Hants Constabulary has mounted a "huge and successful" operation to deal with suspects identified as part of Operation Ore, the national investigation into child abuse.

Detective Superintendent John Fox, of the specialist investigations department, paid tribute to officers and partner agencies for the professionalism and commitment they showed during the long-running investigation.

His comments came as senior officers and practitioners from every force in England and Wales were being updated with the national picture at a conference in Birmingham hosted by the National crime Squad, which believes Operation Ore has helped rescue 102 children from abuse.

"We have a very proactive paedophile unit which is constantly targeting paedophiles in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight," said Det Supt Fox.

"In response to Operation Ore, however, we formed a dedicated team of around 40 investigators, drawing officers from local police stations as well the Specialist Operations Directorate."

Together, they mounted a huge operation which led to houses being searched, people arrested and computers seized. Many suspects have been through, or are currently going through, the court system.

"We have worked very closely with our partners in social services and education to ensure that appropriate steps were taken to safeguard any children who had been abused. It has been a massive undertaking, but we have carried out a thorough investigation into every name put forward."

Operation Ore was launched in 2002 following an investigation by the US Postal Inspection Service into Landslide Inc, of Fort Worth, Texas - a multimillion-dollar internet site selling adult pornography and images of child abuse. Customers came from around the world, with 7,250 based in the UK.

Operation Ore was launched to deal with those identified and the National Crime Squad became the lead agency in the operation, working with forces across the country. In Hampshire and IoW, 223 targets were identified, 12 of whom were found to have moved away and two were deceased. A total of 209 houses were searched, plus workplaces in some cases.

Several hundred computer hard drives and thousands of CD roms and floppy discs were seized and examined. A total of 40 people were subsequently charged and convicted, nine of whom received custodial sentences. Decisions are still to be made on a further 70 and in 99 cases there was no further action, as no child abuse images or other evidence of crime were found.