Moldovan arrested for running underage porn site

Police hold a press briefing at the Technology Crime Suppression Division headquarters on the arrest of Serghei Cependiuc, seen on the video screen. (Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)

A Moldovan man has been arrested for violating the Computer Crime Act by operating a website said to contain underage pornography.

Pol Maj Gen Worrawat Wattanakornbancha, commander of the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), said on Wednesday Serghei Cependiuc, 30, a Moldovan national, had been captured at his house in Thap Sakae district in Prachuap Khiri Khan on Tuesday.

Mr Cependiuc lived with his Thai wife in the district. An arrest warrant for him was issued on May 8 for allegedly operating depfile.com, a website based in Dominica, the small island state in the Caribbean.

The website contained pornographic images of underaged people, and was accessed by members who had to pay monthly fees of US$19.95 (640 baht), according to the TCSD.

The arrest was a coordinated operation, and three other people were detained in Bulgaria and the Netherlands.

Gert Ras, a Dutch police officer who participated in the operation in Thailand, said Alexander Osadcii, another Moldovan, had been apprehended in Moldova.

The Dutch police agency had alerted Thai authorities that Mr Cependiuc was believed to be one of the website administrators.

He was found to have travelled in and out of Thailand since 2009, and had a Thai wife.

TCSD and Crime Suppression Division police together searched six locations in the district before finding him. His computer equipment and related items were confiscated.