The Russian videos, which had been ordered over the internet, were intercepted

when they came into Italy by post, repackaged, and then delivered by undercover

police officers. They cost between £300 and £4,000, depending on what type of

film was ordered.

Covert film of young children naked or undressing was known as a 'SNIPE'

video. The most appalling category was code-named 'Necros Pedo' in which

children were raped and tortured until they died.

Police in Russia and the UK believe that Kuznetsov and his associates have

been in business for more than two years in which time they are believed to have

recruited around 100 boys-aged between 9 and 15-to be filmed.

'Most of the children were rounded up from railway stations. A lot of them came

from the suburbs, or surrounding regions and were from deprived, problem

families,' said Kiril Mazurin, a police spokesman.

'Usually when children like this arrive in the capital, they've got no idea where to

go and hang around in the station. It's very easy to entice this kind of teenager

-with a promise of a warm bed or a trip to the cinema.'

Many were lured away from orphanages. 'Children are not locked in,' said

Mazurin. 'Anyone can come along and promise them a meal at McDonalds. It

doesn't take any more than that."

Some children were paid a commission to find other boys willing to be filmed,

according to reports in the Russian press, for a fee of between 100 and 300

rubles (£2.50-£7).

Kuznetsov had given up his job in 1998 to devote himself

to the lucrative pornography industry. A self-taught computer expert, he was in the process ofupgrading his equipment to allow him to email videos directly to clients when police raided him.

'To see them die.