Bulgarian, Greek police arrest baby traffickers

29 January 2011 | 16:01 | Source: FoNet

ATHENS -- Bulgarian and Greek police have arrested 17 persons suspected of baby trafficking. The arrests came as a result of cooperation between Bulgarian and Greek police and judiciaries. The operation was launched after a Bulgarian woman had contacted the police. She had a baby in Greece and was offered money to give the child up, Reuters reported. She refused and the baby was then taken away from her by force. The woman led police to a house in Greece where women gave birth and children were taken away from them. The child was returned to the Bulgarian woman and they have been placed under police protection. Police have so far discovered 14 cases in which mothers agreed to sell their children. Most of them are Roma women who were transported from Bulgaria to Greece to give birth there. According to the Bulgarian police, they were offered between EUR 18,000 and 20,000 for their newborns and the price depended on the child’s sex and skin color.