Cops have arrested 25 suspected Anonymous members in four countries, following a series of cyber-attacks on Columbian and Chilean state bodies.

‘Operation Unmask’ was backed by Interpol, and involved arrests in Argentina, Chile, Columbia and Spain.

Some of those arrested were as young as 17.

Interpol claims the Colombian Ministry of Defence, Columbian presidential websites, Chile’s Endesa electricity company and its National Library were among the targets of the attacks.

250 items of IT equipment and mobile phones were seized during raids on 40 premises across 15 cities.

Payment cards and cash were also snatched, as ‘part of a continuing investigation into the funding of illegal activities carried out by the suspected hackers.’

“This operation shows that crime in the virtual world does have real consequences for those involved, and that the Internet cannot be seen as a safe haven for criminal activity, no matter where it originates or where it is targeted,” said Bernd Rossbach, Acting Interpol Executive Director of Police Services.