Newborn trafficking ring to China ring detected

On December 28th, Police in HCM City and Quang Ninh Province arrested six people in connection to a human trafficking ring that has allegedly been smuggling newborn babies to China.

On December 26th, Nguyen Thi Sang, 40, was apprehended while attempting to pass a 2-month-old baby to a Chinese citizen in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province. According to Sang, the price tag for the baby was 4 million VND ($250 USD).

Pham Thi Thoa, 29, has been identified as the leader of the ring. Married to a Chinese man, she lives in Guangzhou, China, where she seeks out families who want to buy children. In the meantime, her three accomplices in HCM City visit obstetrical hospitals seeking children aged 3 weeks to several months to bring to Quang Ninh Province. When a baby has been chosen, Truong Thi Thanh brings a member of the Chinese family through the border at the town of Mong Cai to negotiate the purchase of the child.

Since August 2005, the ring has allegedly sold four children. Police also found a young boy at a house in Hoc Mon, HCM City. The child was apparently being nurtured for sale to a Chinese family.