JAKARTA, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- Indonesian police have uncovered an alleged baby-trafficking syndicate that sold infants through social media under the guise of adoption, following the arrest of 12 suspects and rescue of seven babies.
Deputy Head of Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) Nunung Syaifuddin said the network had been operating across several provinces since 2024, reaping hundreds of millions of rupiah in illegal profits.
“Investigators have named 12 suspects, secured crucial evidence and rescued seven babies who were victims,” he said, as reported by ANTARA News Agency, on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Director of the Women and Children Protection and Anti-Trafficking Unit at Bareskrim, Nurul Azizah, said the syndicate believed to have exploited platforms such as Facebook and TikTok to market babies to prospective adopters, disguising the transactions as legitimate adoption or child custody processes.
She said the criminal activities spanned across Jakarta, Banten, Yogyakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, Jambi, Bali, Kalimantan, the Riau Islands and Papua, indicating a wide and well-coordinated network.
Nurul Azizah said that of the 12 suspects, eight allegedly acted as brokers who sourced the infants and facilitated the transactions, while the remaining four were biological parents accused of selling their own babies.
She said authorities seized 21 mobile phones, 17 ATM cards, 74 documents and a bag containing baby supplies, believed to be linked to the illicit operations.
The suspects are being investigated under Indonesia’s Child Protection Law, which carries severe penalties for offences involving child trafficking and exploitation, while further investigations are ongoing to trace potential additional victims and track financial flows connected to the syndicate, she said.
She added that the seven rescued babies are currently undergoing assessment by the Social Affairs Ministry.
-- BERNAMA
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