The police in Cologne are investigating 70 suspects who are said to have owned and exchanged numerous photos and videos of sexually abused babies and small children.
The starting point is a procedure in Berlin, said a police spokesman on Friday of the German Press Agency.
During the investigations in the capital, a man from Wermelskirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia) was discovered who kept lists of suspected pedophiles.
The 44-year-old is said to have sexually abused children himself and is in custody.
Across Germany, suspects are being investigated in 14 federal states.
In addition to owning photos and videos, some of these men are said to have raped children themselves.
Several media, including RTL, the Bild newspaper and WDR reported on Friday.
Accordingly, the police were able to identify around 30 young victims.
The Cologne police have set up a "Special organizational structure list" (BAO list).
The Cologne public prosecutor's office and police want to give further details, figures and background information on the investigation at a press conference on Monday (11:30 a.m.).
In North Rhine-Westphalia there have been several crime complexes involving serious sexual abuse of children in recent years.
The investigations into the Bergisch Gladbach and Münster complexes followed the abuse of the Lügde campsite in the Lippe district.
In the Bergisch Gladbach case, investigators freed 65 children from the violence of sex offenders.
Since its launch in autumn 2019, starting with a family man in Bergisch Gladbach, "BAO Berg" has uncovered a widespread network of serious child abuse.
There were (as of early 2022) 439 suspects and 27 arrests nationwide.
In the Münster abuse complex, which was uncovered in 2020, children were raped in a gazebo and in other places.
So far, the police have identified more than 30 victims and located more than 50 suspects, some of whom have already been convicted.