Five men have been arrested in Pretoria and Kempton Park for being in possession of child pornography in a wide-scale investigation where local law enforcers worked with US crime forensics experts, police said on Sunday.

One of the suspects is a 62-year-old man who owns a day care centre with his wife, another is a married father of three while two others — aged 30 and 42 — live with their parents. The fifth suspect is a convicted rapist who received a suspended sentence that ends on March 15.

The men were arrested at various properties where police found explicit child abuse material in the form of images and videos, according to police spokesperson Col Brenda Muridili.

“Several personal computers, hard drives, flash drives, tablets and cellphones which contain explicit child abuse material (child pornography) were seized during the operation for further investigation and as exhibits,” she said.

The group was apprehended following an intelligence operation conducted by national police, Gauteng SECI which worked with the US department of homeland security officers — who assisted with their expertise in crime scene forensic analysis — the National Crime Intelligence Cyber Crime Unit and Gauteng Forensic Social Work Services.

They were nabbed during an operation code-named “Moonlight” between February 10 and 14.

Police said the first arrest was that of a 30-year-old man in Rietfontein, Pretoria, on February 10. Investigations showed he was staying with his parents. He appeared in the Pretoria magistrate’s court and was granted bail. His case was postponed to March 12.

On the same day, police arrested a 42-year-old man in Claremont, Pretoria. “He is a married father of three,” said Muridili. He has also appeared in court and his case was postponed to February 28.