Adelaide man Samuel Joe Frost charged with child abuse crimes after Interpol, AFP manhunt

Samuel Joe Frost was arrested by police, who seized electronic devices from his home.

A 46-year-old Adelaide man has appeared in court after a five-year manhunt by Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol).

Samuel Joe Frost appeared in Christies Beach Magistrates Court this afternoon via video link after being charged with 11 child abuse offences.

The charges include eight counts of producing child exploitation material, one count of persistent sexual exploitation of a child, using a carriage service to publish child abuse material, and possessing or controlling child abuse material.

Mr Frost did not apply for bail.

Investigators searched the suspect's home yesterday afternoon and allegedly found child abuse material on several electronic devices.

Investigators seized electronic devices from the southern suburbs home. (Supplied: AFP)

Detection dogs trained to detect technological items sniffed out the devices in various locations around the home.

The AFP said in a statement it was first alerted of the material back in 2018.

"The major breakthrough occurred last week when investigators were able to apply a new state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint a location of interest that led to the identification of the alleged offender," the AFP said.

Interpol contacted Australian authorities after it linked child exploitation images posted online to Australia.

A further analysis by Queensland Police pinpointed Adelaide as a linked location to the alleged crime.

Police searched the man's southern suburbs home.

The South Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) said it spent hours examining images to narrow the search to Adelaide's southern suburbs.

A major breakthrough occurred when new technology was used to identify the alleged offender.

AFP Sergeant Joe Barry said this case was pushed along by multiple agencies.

"Through enduring collaboration with our partner agencies, the alleged offender was found to be living in South Australia," Mr Barry said.

"The tenacity and determination of our highly-skilled investigators over a prolonged period of time led to this incredible breakthrough.

Electronic devices seized will be subject to further forensic examination, the AFP said. (Supplied: AFP)

"We are relentless and will never stop our fight to bring offenders to justice and protect children, no matter how much time has passed or where they live."

Mr Frost will face court again at the start of April.