Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has warned that the "net is closing" on sex offenders who target children.
Mr MacAskill paid tribute to police and prosecutors after the life sentences handed down last week to two men at the centre of Scotland's worst paedophile network.
Neil Strachan, 41, and James Rennie, 38, both from Edinburgh, were jailed on Thursday for a catalogue of child pornography and abuse offences yesterday which included the sexual assault of a three-month-old baby. Six of their accomplices have already been convicted and Mr MacAskill, himself a lawyer, said it was a "landmark" case.
And he warned on Sunday: "The lesson for those who target our young people is clear - the net is closing in, our police will find you and you will face the full weight of the law."
He added: "The police operation which resulted in the successful prosecution of these two men and six of their accomplices - Operation Algebra - demonstrated the ability of our police to identify paedophiles using new, hi-tech ways of finding the criminals who trawl the net to plan their evil crimes.
"As a society, we owe these policemen and women an enormous debt of gratitude and I was fortunate to be able to thank the investigation team in person when the trial concluded in May."
Mr MacAskill also said that Operation Algebra, which snared the perverts, underlined the benefits of the close partnership between police and prosecutors at an early stage.
He added: "It may well result in further prosecutions. It has already identified more than 200 suspected paedophiles across the world and police in other countries are using information provided by Scottish police to track down child abusers.
"The successful prosecution was a historic case, and a landmark for our criminal justice system. It involves the first ever convictions in Scotland for conspiracy to commit abuse against children."
Last updated: 01 November 2009, 11:28
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