Man charged in Australia as part of cryptocurrency investigation — ABC News Australia

In Albury, Australia, 29-year-old Jamie Bell has been charged with a number of offences as part of a police investigation into the alleged use of cryptocurrency to purchase child sexual abuse material. As ABC News Australia reports, the court denied the man bail.

Search and charges

Detectives conducted a search on Wednesday morning at a home in the North Albury area. Law enforcement officers seized electronic devices, drugs and other items for forensic examination.

Bell was arrested and taken to Albury Police Station. He was charged with possessing prohibited drugs, producing and possessing child sexual abuse material, as well as producing animal sexual abuse material.

He is separately charged with possessing a child-like sex doll and breaching bail conditions. According to New South Wales Police, the arrest was carried out by cybercrime unit officers as part of the ongoing Strike Force Angle investigation.

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The investigation concerns the use of cryptocurrency to distribute, purchase and produce child sexual abuse material online, police said.

Bail denied

Bell attended the bail hearing via video link, and his lawyer, Malek Alzaim, applied for bail. The court also heard that all of the accused's electronic devices had been seized.

Magistrate Miranda Moody agreed with the prosecution's arguments that Bell, in her view, poses a danger to the community and may fail to appear in court if released. She noted that the alleged actions in the case were planned and denied bail.

Bell is due to appear before Albury Local Court via video link in November.