Global network of sadistic monkey torture exposed by BBC

A year-long BBC probe has uncovered a sadistic planetary monkey torture ringing stretching from Indonesia to the United States.

The World Service found hundreds of customers successful the US, UK and elsewhere paying Indonesians to torture and termination babe long-tailed macaques connected film.

The torture ringing began beingness connected YouTube, earlier moving to backstage groups connected the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

Police are present pursuing the buyers and respective arrests person already been made.

Warning: This nonfiction contains disturbing content

BBC journalists went undercover successful 1 of the main Telegram torture groups, wherever hundreds of radical gathered to travel up with utmost torture ideas and committee radical successful Indonesia and different Asian countries to transportation them out.

The sadists' extremity was to make bespoke films successful which babe long-tailed macaque monkeys were abused, tortured and sometimes past killed connected film.

The BBC tracked down some the torturers successful Indonesia, and distributors and buyers successful the US, and gained entree to an planetary instrumentality enforcement effort to bring them to justice.

At slightest 20 radical are present nether probe globally, including 3 women surviving successful the UK who were arrested by constabulary past twelvemonth and released nether investigation, and 1 antheral successful the US authorities of Oregon who was indicted past week.

Mike McCartney, a cardinal video distributor successful the US known by his surface name, "The Torture King", agreed to talk to the BBC - and described the infinitesimal helium joined his archetypal Telegram monkey torture group.

"They had a canvass acceptable up," McCartney said. "Do you privation a hammer involved? Do you privation pliers involved? Do you privation a screwdriver?" The resulting video was "the astir grotesque happening I person ever seen," helium said.

McCartney, a erstwhile motorcycle pack subordinate who spent clip successful situation earlier entering the monkey torture world, ended up moving respective Telegram groups successful which hardcore torture enthusiasts distributed videos.

"It's nary antithetic than cause money," helium said. "Drug wealth comes from soiled hands, this wealth comes from bloody hands."

The BBC besides identified 2 different cardinal suspects who are present being investigated by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - Stacey Storey, a grandma successful her 40s from Alabama who was known successful the assemblage arsenic "Sadistic", and a ringleader known arsenic "Mr Ape" - whose existent sanction we cannot uncover for information reasons.

"Mr Ape" confessed successful an interrogation with the BBC that helium had been liable for the deaths of astatine slightest 4 monkeys and the torture of galore more. He had commissioned "extremely brutal" videos, helium said.

Storey's telephone was seized by Department of Homeland Security agents, who recovered astir 100 torture videos, arsenic good arsenic grounds that she had paid for the instauration of immoderate of the astir utmost videos produced.

According to constabulary sources, Storey was progressive successful a torture radical arsenic precocious arsenic earlier this month. Approached by the BBC successful Alabama successful January, Storey claimed that she had been hacked and declined to remark connected the allegations successful detail.

"Mr Ape", Stacey Storey and Mike McCartney are 3 of 5 cardinal targets successful the ongoing Homeland Security investigation. They person yet to beryllium charged, but could look up to 7 years successful situation if prosecuted based connected grounds gathered by the DHS.

Special Agent Paul Wolpert, who is starring the DHS investigation, said everyone progressive from instrumentality enforcement had been profoundly shocked by the quality of the alleged crimes.

"I don't cognize if anybody would ever beryllium acceptable for a transgression similar this," helium said. "The aforesaid with the attorneys and the juries, and anybody who reads that this is going on. It is going to beryllium a shocker I think."

Anybody progressive successful buying oregon distributing the monkey torture videos should "expect a sound connected the doorway astatine immoderate point", Agent Wolpert said. "You are not going to get distant with it."

Police successful Indonesia person arrested 2 torture suspects. Asep Yadi Nurul Hikmah was charged with carnal torture and the merchantability of a protected species, and sentenced to 3 years successful prison. M Ajis Rasjana was sentenced to 8 months - the maximum condemnation disposable for torturing an animal.

Monkey torture videos are inactive easy accessible connected Telegram and present Facebook, wherever the BBC precocious recovered dozens of groups sharing utmost content, immoderate with much than 1,000 members.

"We've seen an escalation successful this extreme, graphic content, which utilized to beryllium hidden but is present circulating openly connected platforms similar Facebook," said Sarah Kite, co-founder of carnal foundation Action for Primates.

Facebook told the BBC it had removed the groups we brought to the company's attention. "We don't let the promotion of carnal maltreatment connected our platforms and we region this contented erstwhile we go alert of it, similar we did successful this case," a spokesperson said.

Ms Kite besides called for UK laws to beryllium updated to marque it easier to prosecute individuals who wage for torture videos to beryllium made. "If idiosyncratic is proactively progressive successful inflicting that symptom by paying for it and providing a database of things they privation done to the animal, determination should beryllium stronger laws to clasp them to account," she said.

YouTube told the BBC successful a connection that carnal maltreatment had "no place" connected the level and the institution was "working hard to rapidly region violative content".

"Just this twelvemonth alone, we've removed hundreds of thousands of videos and terminated thousands of channels for violating our convulsive and graphic policies," the connection said.

Telegram said it was "committed to protecting idiosyncratic privateness and quality rights specified arsenic state of speech", adding that its moderators "cannot proactively patrol backstage groups".