3 held as cops blow lid on baby sale racket

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KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesian police uncovered a baby-for-sale racket in Kalimantan on Sunday night when they arrested three suspects and also found a month-old infant who was about to be smuggled into Sarawak.

Police now believe that the suspects, a man and two women, had smuggled several Indonesian babies into Malaysia through Sarawak.

A federal police source told the New Straits Times that Indonesian police received a tip-off on Sunday night with specific details on the suspects and the baby.

They raided a house in Seluas, Bengkayang and arrested a couple who were with the baby. Another woman was also picked up as she had taken care of the infant before passing it to the couple.

"The main suspect was a local in the estate and worked as a small-time trader. Checks revealed that he constantly crossed the border into Sarawak on the pretext of getting raw material for his business.

"Investigations revealed the baby was supposed to be smuggled into the Sarikei district in Sarawak from Jagoi Babang.

"However, it has not been ascertained who was the contact on the Malaysian side.

"The man was paid RM210 (600,000 rupiah) for each baby he smuggled across the border," said the source.

The main suspect told Indonesian police he had received a call from his sister-in-law who asked him to take the infant from another woman. It was learnt the man had been asked to take the infant to Malaysia before handing it to a third party, who was supposedly the mother of the infant.

The man complied with his sister-in-law's request and was paid RM210 for his troubles.

"The man is being held at the Pontianak police station for questioning. Investigations are ongoing to identify the syndicate's Malaysian contact," the source said.

This is the second reported case as last Monday, a Thai baby-for-sale syndicate was busted. A Malaysian woman was believed to have headed a syndicate here which purchased babies from their Thai counterparts.

Meanwhile, Federal CID director Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin said police were taking the matter seriously and were awaiting reports from their foreign counterparts.