Pictured: The Britons held in Thailand child sex swoop



Two British men arrested as part of a child sex abuse investigation were today paraded before cameras by Thailand police.

Londoners Malcolm Henry Payne, 59, and Robert Alexander Horsman,45, along with German Fritz Dieter Blattner, 66, and American Robert Roy Lond, 59, were held in pre-dawn raids.

Some of the suspects tried to hide their faces during the press conference where police outlined the case against them.



Suspects: (From right to left) American Robert Roy Lond, Britons Malcolm Henry Payne, Robert Alexander Horsman and German Fritz Dieter Blattner



Police also laid out a large amount of sexual paraphernalia which they said had been recovered during the raids.

Officers said they had recovered hundreds of photos and videos of abused young boys.

All four men were picked up in the Thai beach resort of Pattaya. If they are found guilty they could face at least 20 years in jail.

They have been freed on bail to await a court case.



Freed on bail: Fritz Dieter Blattner Robert Alexnadre Horsman leave the press conference

The operation was launched after UK investigators identified an online paedophile network.

Today's arrests were a joint operation between the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and the Royal Thai Police.

Officers said CEOP had provided a list of 50 suspected paedophiles who might be hiding in the South-East Asian nation, long regarded as a haven for child sex abusers.

'We are appealing to the victims of these paedophiles to come out so we can press more charges against them,' chief investigator Police Colonel Suvichpol Imjairat told a news conference.

CEOP chief executive Jim Gamble said the arrests sent a message to European paedophiles who think they can evade capture by travelling to countries where law enforcement is thought to be weaker.



'Britons who travel abroad to abuse children in the belief they can evade justice are a UK problem and we have a duty to protect every child, everywhere,' he said in a statement.

All four suspects were arrested at the Thai beach resort of Pattaya following a joint police operation between Britain and Thailand

CEOP's deputy head of operations, Andy Wells, said: 'Working with the Royal Thai Police we have located and identified a number of individuals who are suspected of serious alleged offences against vulnerable children.



'Non-government organisations have been instrumental in helping to build an intelligence picture of the threat that travelling sex offenders pose to children from in the region.'



Pattaya is a popular beach resort about an hour from Thai capital Bangkok.

The operation began when an online network was identified by CEOP internet investigators in the UK.



Links were established with Thailand, prompting the start of a joint operation with their Thai counterparts.



CEOP boss Mr Gamble said: 'This operation and these arrests demonstrate the value of the relationship between CEOP and the Royal Thai Police, a relationship which continues to develop.'

Thailand made headlines last year when police arrested 'swirly-face' Canadian paedophile Christopher Neil, whose digitally scrambled picture was unravelled from images of abuse found on the internet.

