Indonesia dismantles baby trafficking ring smuggling infants to Singapore

Indonesian authorities have detained 12 suspects after uncovering an alleged baby trafficking ring that sent more than a dozen infants to Singapore, a police official said on Tuesday.

The case was discovered after a parent reported an alleged baby kidnapping to police, which led them to a suspect who admitted to trading 24 infants, said West Java police’s director of general criminal investigation, Surawan, who goes by one name.

The perpetrators are accused of moving the babies to Pontianak city on Borneo island and then sending more than a dozen of them on to Singapore, said the official.

“Based on documents, 14 [babies] were sent to Singapore,” he said.

“The age range is clearly under one-year-old, with some three months old, five months old, and six months old.”

Authorities managed to rescue five babies in Pontianak and one in Tangerang, a city near the Indonesian capital Jakarta. They also arrested a dozen suspects across Jakarta, Pontianak and the Javan city of Bandung.

“They are a syndicate, a baby trafficking syndicate. They each have their own roles,” said Surawan.