The Darkest Web: 5. Buried hard drives

The Darkest Web: 5. Buried hard drives

From World of Secrets by BBC

March 16, 2026 · 28 min · Season 11 · Episode 5

About this episode

The episode investigates a paedophile known as 'Twinkle' and the efforts to apprehend him in rural Portugal.

Pete and Greg have learnt about a paedophile calling himself “Twinkle”, who runs a website dedicated to sharing images of very young children. At first, they have no idea who he is or where he could be, but slowly Twinkle gives himself away. Working with investigators in Brazil and Portugal the agents discover that Twinkle is a young man living in rural Portugal. Greg flies out to assist with the arrest and discovers some very disturbing scenes. This episode talks about child sexual abuse from the very start, and includes some upsetting scenes. For further information on the issues raised in the programme, contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support go to bbc.co.uk/actionline. Reporter and Presenter: Sam Piranty Writer and Producer: Annabel Deas Script advice: Matt Willis Sound design: Neil Churchill Composer: Rob Lewis Executive Producer: Rebecca Henschke Commissioning Senior Producer: Sarah Green Commissioning Editor: Jon Manel The Darkest Web is a BBC Eye production for the BBC World Service.

People in this episode

Hosts: Sam Piranty, Matt Willis, Jon Manel

Topics covered

  • child sexual abuse
  • internet safety
  • investigation
  • crime
  • law enforcement
  • support organizations

Keywords

  • paedophile
  • child abuse
  • investigation
  • Twinkle
  • Brazil
  • Portugal
  • BBC
  • support organizations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC, BBC World Service, BBC Eye, UK

Places: Brazil, Portugal, rural Portugal

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