Austrian police have smashed an international child pornography ring following the arrest of a 37-year-old man in the state of Styria who was found to be in possession of tens of thousands of child pornography photos and movie files.

The Austrian Federal Criminal Police Office (BK) said Wednesday that examination of the man's online activities has led to 52 other individuals around the globe being accused of similar activity.

This includes the current investigations against six suspects in Austria, and 35 suspects in neighbouring Germany.

The other suspects under investigation are from Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Mexico, Brazil, and Iran, BK spokesperson Mario Hejl said according to a Kleine Zeitung newspaper report.

The initial investigations that began a year ago were triggered by the Swiss Coordination Unit for Cybercrime Control (CYCOS), who became aware of the Styrian man's activities, which then led to a house search and the discovery of the large amount of child pornography data.

Hejl said the accused individuals, several of whom were already known to the authorities, had passed photos of children back and forth.