FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest of two leaders of an international child exploitation ring tied to a satanic, neo-Nazi extremist group. The arrests mark a major development in the agency’s crackdown on violent online child abuse networks.
Leanoidis Varagiannis, also known as “War,” age 21, and Prasan Nepal, or “Trippy,” age 20, were apprehended in April. Varagiannis, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Greece on Monday, while Nepal was taken into custody in North Carolina on April 22. The Department of Justice confirmed the arrests and detailed the network’s operations in a public statement.
The men are alleged leaders of the group known as 764 and its subgroup 764 Inferno. According to court documents, they directed and participated in the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The DOJ described 764 as a “nihilistic violent extremist” group that targets vulnerable children on various online platforms.
The network employed sophisticated grooming tactics to manipulate children into sharing personal data and intimate images. Victims were coerced into self-harm, with some forced to carve the names of group members into their skin. The affidavit states the group’s end goal is to sow societal chaos and dismantle the existing world order, including the United States government.
CBC News and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) report that 764 has direct ideological ties to the Order of Nine Angles (09A), a satanic neo-Nazi cult. The group operates across platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, Roblox, and Telegram, where it lures minors into private channels under false pretenses.
To access the group’s inner circles, new recruits were often required to submit proof of illegal acts, a tactic designed to deter infiltration by law enforcement. Despite these measures, the FBI infiltrated the network after a gun-related arrest in 2021 revealed deeper connections to online child exploitation.
The DOJ states that if convicted, both Varagiannis and Nepal face maximum sentences of life imprisonment.
