A 59-year-old suspect has been arrested for possessing more than 56 000 videos and images of child sexual abuse material in Standerton.
Police in Mpumalanga seized more than 56 000 videos and images of child sexual abuse material during an operation in Standerton, leading to one arrest.
Operation Bad Vibes is continuing to yield positive results after a 59-year-old man was arrested for possessing child sexual abuse material on Wednesday.
The operation is an initiative launched in 2023 between the South African Police Service (Saps), the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the US Embassy.
Operation Bad Vibes yields more arrests
The operation’s goal is to trace and arrest suspects in South Africa linked to accessing, possessing, manufacturing, and distributing child sexual abuse material worldwide.
Wednesday’s arrest has brought the total number of arrests under the initiative to 16.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk said the suspect was arrested when an integrated team carried out a search-and-seizure warrant on Wednesday.
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During the operation, the team also seized 15 licensed firearms and several digital devices.
“While processing the scene, forensic experts uncovered more than 56 000 videos and images depicting child sexual abuse material; the forensic investigation is ongoing,” Van Wyk said.
The operation was led by the Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) Unit in Mpumalanga, with support from HSI, the US Embassy, the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC), and designated firearm officers in Standerton.
More than 56 000 videos and images of child sexual abuse material
The suspect appeared in the Standerton Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The case has been postponed to 4 August 2025 for a formal bail application.
In April, an Eastern Cape father was sentenced to two life terms and an additional 3 713 years behind bars for more than 700 counts of sexual crimes, including exposing his daughter to child pornography.
The Gqeberha High Court found the 56-year-old guilty of a slew of heinous offences, including rape, sexual assault, sexual grooming, human trafficking, possession, production, and procuring of child pornography, as well as exposing children and a person living with mental disability to pornography.
