DHAKA: Bangladesh police have arrested a leading writer for running an organised gang which used street children in pornographic films for foreign clients, an official said on Sunday.

A.Y.M Fakhruzzaman, popularly known by his pen-name Tipu Kibria, was arrested early last week along with three of his accomplices after a tip-off from the international police organisation Interpol, police said.

“We acted immediately after we were informed by Interpol,” said Shah Alam, a senior official in the police Criminal Investigation Department, adding the offences began in 2005.

Kibria, 47, has written more than 50 books and his six horror novels for young and adolescent readers are best-sellers. He also edited a magazine for young readers for years.

Police found several thousand pornographic photos and some videos of street children at his studio in Dhaka’s Mugda neighbourhood, Alam said.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2014