Depok Police bust baby-trafficking syndicate selling newborns in Bali – Archipelago

he Depok Police in West Java have uncovered a cross-provincial baby-trafficking ring that allegedly bought newborns online and sold them to residents, some of them foreigners, of the resort island of Bali.

Depok Police chief Sr. Cmr. Arya Perdana announced earlier this week that they had arrested eight persons involved in the “well-organized” crime, including a broker, an intermediary and the parents of two babies who were about to be sent from Depok to Bali.

All the suspects will be charged under the 2017 Human Trafficking Law and the 2014 Child Protection Law, which carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and Rp 600 million (US$39,000) in fines.

The syndicate, Arya went on to say, operated through social media platform Facebook to attract both prospective adoptive parents and families from underprivileged backgrounds who were willing to sell their babies in exchange for cash of Rp 10 million to Rp 15 million.

The adoptive parents, on the other hand, were required to pay between Rp 40 million to Rp 45 million to secure a baby. The syndicate had completed five such illegal transactions, the police chief added.

“We have yet to find any involvement of foreigners in this syndicate, but they were indeed one of the target markets,” Arya told a press conference on Monday, adding that the two babies secured from the police’s recent operation were currently under the care of the Depok Social Agency.

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