German retiree arrested for selling child pornography on dark web

Thai police handcuff suspect in Chonburi and confiscate computers, mobile phones and data after tip-off from US security agency

 

A 54-year-old German national has been arrested in Thailand for allegedly producing and distributing child pornography via the dark web, generating approximately 3.5 million baht. 

 

Pol Maj-General Athip Pongsivapai, chief of the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), said the man, identified only as Steffen, was arrested on Tuesday at a condominum in Chonburi’s Bang Lamung district. The arrest was announced at a press conference at the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) headquarters. 

 



 

The suspect faces several charges, including possession and distribution of child pornography, production and trade of obscene materials, and importing and disseminating such content via computer systems. 



 

The arrest follows a tip-off from the US Homeland Security Investigations, which indicated that Steffen was selling child porn on the dark eb. Authorities allege the sites contain illicit content, including hidden camera footage and explicit videos.

 

Users were required to purchase memberships using cryptocurrency, with credits deducted for viewing and downloading videos. 

 

Investigations into the transactions revealed that Steffen had employed a complex money-laundering scheme, transferring funds between several digital wallets and exchanging cryptocurrencies into Thai baht.  



 

In the raid, police confiscated a laptop, a server, mobile phones, data storage devices containing more than 140,000 files, bank accounts, credit cards and SIM cards. 

 

Pol Col Supoj Phumyaem, TCSD Superintendent, said that Steffen had confessed to operating two websites that had more than 10,000 members and 5,000 pornographic videos, primarily featuring the exploitation of children. He admitted to using his programming skills, acquired while working in Germany, to establish and manage the websites. 

 



 

Members were required to pay a minimum of US$10 for access to the websites, and Steffen converted the cryptocurrency payments into Thai baht for personal use. 

 

He has been handed over to the TCSD for further legal proceedings.

(2025/03/11-00:00)