Police in Peterborough have arrested eight people who allegedly tried to sexually exploit children through social media and online chat rooms.

Undercover officers posed as children during the investigation, conducted by the Ontario Provincial Police Child Exploitation Unit and Peterborough Police Service.

"Unfortunately, where the children go, the offenders go," said Det.-Const. James King of the OPP.

He said the undercover officers were quickly inundated with requests after logging on to the sites.

"It's within minutes," King said. "You often can't keep up with the amount of people that are trying to contact you."

During the three-day operation, dubbed Project Peacehaven, police communicated with 36 adults who believed they were speaking to children.

Some of the suspects sent explicit photos and were "very persistent" in their demands to meet in person, added Det.-Const. Lara Perks of Peterborough police.

Six of the suspects were eventually arrested after they travelled to meet who they thought was a child. One of them drove more than 290 kilometres to the location, police said.

"They took that conversation that started out online to the point where they actually went to a place where they thought a child was going to be," said Det.-Sgt. Brain McDermott of the OPP.

The other two suspects did not travel to the set location and were instead arrested after solely online investigations.

The arrested people face a variety of charges including luring a person under 16, possession of child pornography and sending sexually explicit content.

Police recommend that families consult the Canadian Centre for Child Protection for advice on keeping kids safe online.