Police have rescued five children who were being kept as sex slaves by paedophiles who broadcast the abuse on the internet.
The boys and girls, aged from seven to 13 years old, were snatched from the suspects in a series of raids across the UK.
Three of the youngsters were discovered at addresses in Scotland, and two in England.
The children were being attacked on a daily basis, and footage of the abuse was streamed live on websites.
All are now receiving counselling and support.
Officers said a number of suspects were arrested in the operation.
Scotland's National Sex Crimes Unit, which was set up in March this year, said legal proceedings have begun against them.
Senior prosecuting counsel Derek Ogg QC, who heads the unit, praised police for the "good old-fashioned detective work" that led to the arrests.
Officers began the operation after a man was arrested for other alleged sex offences.
Children were identified and the raids were launched across the UK.
Mr Ogg told Sky News Online: "When you discover this going on in your own back yard, in your home country, it really brings it home to people.
"This was all down to good old-fashioned police detective work."
He added: "It was carried out by incredibly dedicated officers who worked night and day to put an end to these children's daily ordeal.
"I can't stress enough the credit that the police take in these cases.
"It takes amazing dedication sifting through the evidence to get success like this."
I can only hope that our dismal justice system for once does the right thing and a sensible judge puts these evil bastards away for the rest of their lives and while inside they get their genitals amputated.
As a father of 3 myself, I can only imagine how the parents of these children must be feeling right now, it is certainly a heart wrenching decision when you have to decide between what you want to do and what you should do in the best interest of your kids, when sadly vengeance, no matter how much you want it or deserve it will only make the situation worse.
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