Rio de Janeiro, October 16 (RHC-Xinhua) -- Brazil's Federal Police arrested 51 suspected pedophiles Wednesday in a massive dragnet against child pornography, Brazilian news portal G1 news reported.

Some 500 police officers took part in the operation, called Darknet, which led to arrests in 18 states, including the Federal District, home to the capital Brasilia.

According to the police, the arrestees come from various sectors of the society.

Over 100 searches, seizures and arrest warrants were issued in the operation, which also uncovered participants in child pornography rings in Portugal, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela and Italy. Twelve arrest warrants were issued for suspects in those countries.

During police investigations, at least six children were rescued from situations of abuse or imminent rape, according to the police.