MEXICO CITY: Eight people were arrested and eight others are being sought for stealing and trafficking in newborn babies in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, officials said.
The suspects, who are the subjects of arrest warrants issued by a judge, are wanted for selling stolen babies to Mexican and American couples since March 2012, Sonora Attorney General Carlos Navarro told Imagen Radio.
The case was opened on March 18, when an anonymous tip was received about a man named Jose Manuel Hernandez who was allegedly selling children, Navarro said.
Investigators learned that Vladimir Arzate, former deputy director of the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Protection of Children, was involved in selling babies taken from women in difficult situations, Navarro said.
The evidence indicates that as of March nine newborns had been taken from their mothers so they could be sold to “people who were waiting to adopt,” the AG said.
Hernandez and Arzate, who are fugitives, contacted couples looking to adopt and asked them to pay between 80,000 pesos and 150,000 pesos (US$4,720 and US$8,840) for a child, Navarro said.
Couples agreeing to buy babies received false birth certificates that could be used to register the children as their biological offspring, allowing them to avoid going through the legal adoption process.
The identities of the parents of the stolen babies have not been determined, Navarro said, adding that mothers victimized by the ring should file complaints with prosecutors.
A complaint filed by a woman on Monday is being investigated, the AG said. --Bernama