Police are speeding up investigations into those who allegedly facilitated the  distribution of sexually exploitative videos of women and underage girls on Telegram chat rooms by paying for the illicit content.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s cyber security department booked around  10 people on Monday suspected of paying their way into the so-called Baksabang chat rooms run by Cho Joo-bin. 

They also began search and seizure operations, hitting 20 local cryptocurrency exchanges and agencies to secure evidence of money transactions between those involved in the case. Police believe the raids will also help determine the size of Cho’s proceeds from the alleged criminal activities and track other potential suspects.

Authorities are said to have secured around 15-thousand nicknames of people who participated in the chat rooms on the Telegram messenger service.

Those who were booked, many in their 30s, were caught possessing videos depicting sexual violence against children.