A 30-year-old man was arrested in Cyprus as part of an international police operation over the existence of a website on the dark web on which images of sexual abuse of minors was disseminated, the police said on Wednesday evening.

The operation involved the authorities of 38 countries and the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol, with the website now having been shut down, more than 1,300 suspects having been identified, and 79 people having been arrested.

The police said the arrest in Cyprus took place on March 23 after they were handed the man’s details by the authorities of another EU member state.

The man stands accused of having been a paid member of the website.

Following the man’s arrest, the police carried out a search of his residence, seizing two laptops, three mobile phones, a hard drive, and a USB memory stick.

The police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.