State authorities have arrested 40 people hailing from every county in New Jersey following a large-scale child pornography crackdown.

Authorities have been scheduled to detail the arrests at an 11 AM press conference at the State Police technology complex in Hamilton.

According to authorities, all of the defendants had been charged with possession of child pornography, and most of them were also charged with distribution.

In a statement, State Police said that the arrests were "the result of a proactive scanning of internet traffic to discover who was sharing and downloading these files across New Jersey."

The investigation was dubbed "Operation Statewide."

The arrests came few months shorltly following a similar crackdown in April that saw 16 New Jersey residents charged.

State Attorney General Christopher Porrino, State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes and representatives from other law enforcement agencies have been Scheduled to appear at the press conference, that are part of a statewide task force.

By Prakriti Neogi