Bangladeshi national, Zobaidul Amin, pleads not guilty to running alleged worldwide child exploitation network

Image: Zobaidul Amin is accused of coercing hundreds of minor victims — some as young as 11 — into producing sexually explicit images and videos in what prosecutors described as one of the most prolific online child exploitation schemes alleged in U.S. history. (Source: Department of Justice)

A Bangladeshi national accused of allegedly orchestrating a large-scale online child exploitation operation involving hundreds of victims worldwide has appeared in a United States federal court in Alaska after being transferred from Malaysia.

Zobaidul Amin, 28, made his initial appearance in the US District Court in Anchorage after being extradited from Malaysia, where he had been living and studying medicine.

Amin had been indicted by a federal grand jury in Alaska in 2022 over allegations he operated an international sextortion network targeting minors.

Prosecutors allege Amin used social media platforms including Instagram and Snapchat to pose as a teenager and contact children, coercing them into producing sexually explicit images and videos. Investigators say many victims were based in Alaska, while others were located across the United States and in other countries.

Authorities claim the scheme involved threats to share explicit material with victims’ friends, family members or classmates unless they continued sending images. Some victims were reportedly as young as 11.

According to court filings, Amin is alleged to have used dozens of social media accounts – including more than 80 on Snapchat and 40 on Instagram – to evade platform bans and continue contacting victims.

Prosecutors allege images and videos were organised in online storage folders and used to further pressure victims into producing additional material.

Image: FBI agents escort Zobaidul Amin after his transfer from Malaysia to the United States to face charges in an alleged international sextortion and child exploitation scheme. (Source: Department of Justice)

The case has involved cooperation between US authorities and Malaysian law enforcement. Amin had previously been charged in Malaysia in September 2022 with offences related to the possession and production of child abuse material.

US Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska said the alleged offences had global implications and could rank among the most extensive online child exploitation cases investigated by American authorities.

“The impact of this case is of international magnitude,” Heyman said, noting that cooperation between US and Malaysian authorities enabled the suspect to be transferred to Alaska so the prosecution could proceed.

The investigation was led by the FBI’s Anchorage Field Office Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with assistance from numerous federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States as well as the Royal Malaysia Police.

US officials said the case highlights the cross-border nature of online exploitation offences and the increasing reliance on international partnerships to investigate and prosecute suspects operating outside the country.

Amin faces 13 federal charges, including conspiracy to produce child pornography, conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, operating a child exploitation enterprise, cyberstalking, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud.

Amin has entered a plea of not guilty and is being held in custody as the case proceeds through the federal court system. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence ranging from 20 years to life in prison.

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