WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT: At least 20 people have been placed under investigation globally after an undercover investigation exposed a 'depraved' animal abuse ring, involving two British women

Hidden deep in a sick corner of the internet is a network of men and women who profit from helpless animals being beaten, doused in acid and placed in blenders.

At least 20 people were placed under investigation globally following a BBC undercover investigation that uncovered a 'depraved' animal abuse ring, involving two British women. The vile network involved a private online group that paid people in Indonesia to kill and torture baby monkeys on video.

Adriana Orme, 56, and Holly LeGresley, 37, were sentenced in 2024 after pleading guilty to monkey cruelty offences. Orme, from Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, admitted to uploading 26 videos of monkeys being tortured and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

LeGresley known as 'The Immolater' online - was jailed for two years after admitting to uploading 22 images and 132 videos of monkeys being tortured, and making a payment to a PayPal account to encourage cruelty.

Mother-of-three Orme, aged 56, was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to publishing an obscene article by uploading one image and 26 videos of monkey torture, and to having encouraged or assisted the commission of unnecessary suffering by making a £10 payment to a PayPal account.

Judge James Burbidge KC said Orme and LeGresley, from Upton-upon-Severn and Kidderminster respectively, had joined online chat groups which encouraged torture of monkeys by offenders based in Indonesia.

The judge, who said he had been left "almost in disbelief" by the evidence in the case, told the defendants: "Quite what led you two women of good character and, I am satisfied, some intelligence, to engage in such a forum is beyond comprehension by any right-thinking member of society."

A year-long investigation, published by the Beeb in June 2023, exposed a sadistic global monkey torture network spanning from Indonesia to the United States. It revealed hundreds of online customers who would pay to suggest methods of torturing and sometimes killing baby long-tailed macaques on film.

It's believed the torture network originated on YouTube but after demand for more extreme abuse emerged, it shifted to private groups on the messaging app Telegram. One of the monkeys featured in some of the films became notorious among the ring and was called Mini. Her owner, M Ajis Rasajana, would lock her in a room with him and slam her against the wall whilst laughing and filming the entire horrific act.

When he was finally apprehended and subsequently released in Indonesia, he told BBC reporters that he initially began uploading monkey videos to generate ad revenue. However, he noticed that abusive content garnered more views, prompting him to produce such videos. He advertised a Telegram account on YouTube, inviting viewers to "Message for more extreme videos".

Viewers responded, and he supplied the disturbing content, despite labelling his foreign clientele as "psychopaths" due to their requests. By the time he acquired Mini, he had already killed 20 other baby monkeys but had earned enough to purchase a new car. Ajis was what's referred to as a VO - video operator - a term in this sick underworld for the individual responsible for the torture.

According to reports, these VOs were paid by the monkey ring itself. The BBC investigation infiltrated one of the main groups, Ape's Cage, which boasted hundreds of members. All used pseudonyms and shared a common, sadistic interest - witnessing the suffering of monkeys.

The broadcaster revealed that the man leading the group, known only as Mr Ape, reportedly spent hours daily conversing with fellow monkey abusers, soliciting donations for video production and distributing the distressing footage. He allegedly boasted about "building an empire", claiming to be the founder and CEO of Ape's Cage, whilst also being a member of other private torture groups.

Mr Ape, whose real identity remains unknown, set out to find his own video operator and discovered someone already working in this field. Stacey Storey was a 46-year-old grandmother employed at a petrol station, living with her son in a trailer situated off the main road in rural Alabama. Using the screen name 'Sadistic', she allegedly shared countless torture videos and disturbing fantasies involving acid and force feeding.

Her services cost £150 per film, and Mr Ape allegedly requested footage of a baby monkey in a blender, believing it would bring him notoriety within the monkey-hating community. The group enthusiastically supported the idea and funded it, along with another horrific clip involving a power drill that ultimately killed the monkey.

The network was rapidly expanding its membership, but some participants were actually animal welfare supporters and campaigners who had successfully infiltrated the disturbing ring. Lucy Kapetanich, Dave Gooptar and Nina Jackel were horrified by what they witnessed in the groups - including amputations, decapitations and drownings - and were resolved to expose what they had uncovered.

Nina received an invitation to join Ape's Cage from one of its most active participants, Michael Macartney, 51, who went by the online alias 'Torture King'. The former motorcycle gang member from Norfolk, Virginia, explained he recruited her because, despite his deep involvement, he felt remorseful about their activities and wanted to bring it down from the inside. The group had approximately 400 members spanning America, Europe and Australia.

He claimed that he initially signed up after receiving an invitation following comments he made on videos of Mini. Upon gaining access, he discovered the group had created a poll asking members to vote on which torture implement they wanted used - a hammer, a screwdriver or pliers. Whatever won the vote would be implemented. The Immolater, a bird enthusiast living with her parents in the UK, was reportedly amongst the most vicious contributors.

Macartney, known as one of the ringleaders of the sick network, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crushing videos in 2024 and was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

Before his jail sentence, McCartney told the BBC team investigating: "I was the man. You want to see monkeys get messed up? I could bring it to you." He also attempted to emphasise his efforts to shut down the operation, stating: "I tried to do the right thing but I profited. It was my mistake."

While the torture group carefully screens new members, Sadistic's (Stacey Storey's) 'video operator' made a critical error - revealing identifying details in his torture videos that could pinpoint his location in Indonesia. The BBC notified a local animal welfare organisation and together they forwarded the intelligence to police in West Java. Officers arrested Asep Yadi Nurul Hikmah and, according to their documentation, discovered a blender and power drill at his residence.

In January, Stacey Storey, 49, pled guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crushing videos. She was sentenced to two years and four months in federal prison.

The BBC also spoke to Mr Ape, a university graduate in his mid-twenties who lived at his mother's home in a respectable Florida neighbourhood. He described himself as a lonely person and explained his motivation for watching the disturbing videos. "What was so appealing was to see something else suffer, essentially, that looked human," he said. "Because I was suffering."

Across the Atlantic in the US, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were simultaneously investigating a monkey torture ring. Agent Wolpert from the DHS, who typically investigated child sex abuse networks, noticed a disturbing parallel between the two types of criminal operations. He described the monkey groups as "like nothing I'd ever seen".

"It's actually just like a child abuse investigation," he said. "The groups, the secrecy, the way they vet people - it's exactly the same." While possessing animal torture videos isn't illegal in the US, distributing them is a criminal offence that can result in up to seven years behind bars. The individual known as "Mr. Ape" has not yet been publicly identified, unlike his co-conspirators and other ring leaders.

Mini's owner, M Ajis Rasjana, received an eight-month prison sentence in Indonesia - the maximum penalty for animal torture. Asep Yadi Nurul Hikmah was convicted of animal torture and the sale of a protected species, receiving a three-year prison term.

When the BBC published its investigation, it revealed that monkey torture videos remained readily available on Telegram and Facebook, where it discovered dozens of groups sharing extreme content, some with more than 1,000 members. "We've seen an escalation in this extreme, graphic content, which used to be hidden but is now circulating openly on platforms like Facebook," said Sarah Kite, co-founder of animal charity Action for Primates.

Facebook told the BBC it had removed and continues to remove animal torture groups when they are brought to its attention. YouTube said it was "working hard to quickly remove violative content," whilst Telegram said its moderators could not "proactively patrol private groups" but users could report content from them.