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Indonesian police arrested 12 people in relation to a baby trafficking syndicate alleged to have smuggled more than a dozen babies into Singapore, police said on Tuesday.
The incident was unearthed following a report of kidnapping made by a parent, which resulted in the investigations leading to a suspect who admitted to selling 24 babies. According to Surawan, the Director of General Criminal Investigation at West Java Police, the babies were first brought to Pontianak city on the island of Borneo, with 14 being dispatched further to Singapore.
“The infants’ age range is obviously below one year old and among them are those who are as young as three, five, and six months,” Surawan said.
Officially, five babies were rescued in Pontianak and another in Tangerang, close to Jakarta. The dozen suspects were apprehended during simultaneous operations in Jakarta, Pontianak, and Bandung. The police affirmed the suspects formed a syndicate with each member having specific tasks, including finding infants, nursing them, securing shelter, or preparing forged documents such as family cards and passports.
The syndicate is said to have operated since 2023, according to arrested people’s statements. The investigators indicated that traffickers victimized vulnerable parents or mothers who were ready to relinquish their children for payment.
Surawan clarified that the case began when a parent who had entered an agreement with the syndicate prior to the birth of the child reported to the authorities after failing to receive payment for giving up the child.
Human trafficking is still a problem in Indonesia, a nation comprising more than 17,000 islands. In another case in 2022, at least 57 individuals were found caged on a palm oil plantation in North Sumatra, illustrating the ongoing challenge that the law enforcement agencies have in fighting such a crime.
Police are ongoing with trying to determine the extent of the baby trafficking ring.
