Police in China detain head of bogus reproductive health company that was buying and selling babies

The company acted as a middleman to connect people who were desperate for babies to women willing to give theirs up

Police detained the company boss on suspicion of running an illegal surrogacy company and human trafficking

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An activist captured the moment when he met the post-partum nurse for the baby he was pretending to buy. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:33pm, 4 Aug 2021Updated: 7:17pm, 4 Aug 2021

In the eastern Chinese city of Weifang, there was a company, seemingly above board, that was advertising itself as a reproductive health business. The paperwork was in order, it had a storefront and looked like any other business.

The entire enterprise, it turned out, was a front for a group of middlemen that were connecting people desperate to have a baby with women who were pregnant or had just given birth. They were, to put it simply, facilitating the buying and selling of babies.

After a report was published by The Paper on Monday, police in Weifang, in Shandong province, detained the head of the company, surnamed Zhu, and accused her of human trafficking and running an illegal surrogacy company.

Surrogacy is illegal in China, but people will go to extreme measures to have a child if they are desperate enough. Photo: AFP

It is unclear how many transactions were completed, but Zhu told police she had discussions with between 20-30 potential customers per year, according to The Paper.

The investigation, a partnership between the Shanghai-based news outlet and an anti-trafficking advocate named Shangguan Zhengyi, had approached the police on July 30 with proof that Zhu’s claim of “facilitation adoptions” was a front. The police said they opened an investigation on August 1, using evidence discovered in the sting. The report was published the next day and Zhu was arrested hours later.