Authorities with Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams say that eight people have been arrested and charged in connection with an operation targeting child sexual exploitation offences.

Along with the arrests, ALERT says that during Operation ICE Storm II, a seven-month long investigation between September 2014 and March 2015, officers executed 16 search warrants and seized 85 computers and electronic devices.

Officials say they focused on high-level targets that were sharing and distributing vast collections of pornographic material. They believe the images were shared over a variety of peer-to-peer networks.

Investigators analyzed over 14 trillion bytes of data and identified about 100,000 photos and videos depicting child sexual abuse, including, most disturbingly, victims as young as six months old.

None of the victims are believed to be from Alberta and none of the offences appear to have taken place within the province.

The following people have been charged with possessing, accessing, and making available child pornography:

  • Luis Bexiga, 37, of Calgary
  • Daniel Clarke-Ferr, 47, of Calgary
  • Brad Drummond, 33, of Calgary
  • Michael Hilles, 40, of Calgary
  • Colin Penner, 60, of Sherwood Park
  • Eduardo Ramirez, 46, of Calgary
  • Marc Sicotte, 33, of Chipman
  • Keith Vittie, 27, of Calgary

Authorities say that Bexiga faces another 13 related charges and Clarke-Ferr faces seven other related charges.

None of the offenders have been previously convicted for any other child porn related offences.

One of the primary investigators on Operation ICE Storm II, Detective Justin Brooks, says these types of investigations are very difficult and complex to conduct, expecially given the amount of offenders that are only growing as time passes. "These types of investigations have grown increasingly difficult and complex. It's an ongoing challenge for us to stay shead of the technology that these offenders use to hide their illegal activity.

"It's also a challenge to keep ahead of the sheer volume. In this investigation, we had to prioritize our targets to focus on those with the largest collections and some of the most graphic content. Sadly, the arrest of these eight offenders is a mere drop in the bucket," he said on Tuesday.

Brooks says that just over the past four years, the number of ICE-related cases have grown by 40 percent.

He says that every effort will be made to rescue the victims in the photos. "With any imageswe obtain through seizure, all those images are submitted to our database with our partners at the International Child Exploitation Centre and they'll determine whether they've been previously identified or not and then the investgation still continues from there."

It's also unlikely that many people know how widespread the issue is, he says. "Thousands of photos and videos of child sexual abuse are being traded online every day in communities, big and small, across Alberta."

Brooks says he hopes, by revealing the results of Operation ICE Storm II, it sends a strong message to offenders. "I'm really hoping that by sharing this investigation, we send the message that we have no tolerance for those who exploit children. We will target you and we will bring you to justice."

10 people were arrested during Operation ICE Storm, with the investigation concluding in April 2014.