EDMONTON -- Police have arrested 13 men after investigations in Alberta, Ontario and elsewhere that targeted suspects who were allegedly trying to arrange sex with children.
The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team says the arrests started in February and ended last month as part of a series of unrelated investigations by the team's Edmonton-based Internet Child Exploitation unit.
The team says a dozen of the accused are from Edmonton and four other communities, while the 13th person is a resident of Barrie, Ont.
A total of 69 charges have been laid, while three suspects have been identified in the United States.
Police seized nearly 50 computers and electronic devices and say the alleged crimes took place on a variety social media platforms.
All the accused face multiple charges, with the most counts -- 16 -- laid against a 37-year Edmonton resident.
The ICE unit, made up of members of the Edmonton police, the RCMP and civilian forensic technicians, worked with a number of Alberta police agencies, Barrie police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
