In the largest joint investigation of online child sex abuse in Canada, almost 60 people were nabbed across the country, five of them in the Toronto area, police said yesterday.

The RCMP's National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (NCECC) initiated Project Salvo in November, bringing together 23 investigators from police departments across the country ahead of raids this week.

As of yesterday, 57 people were arrested on "well over 100 charges" ranging from sexual assault to possession, making and distributing child pornography, said Sgt. Dave Fox, of NCECC.