Doctors in Mexico arrested over newborn baby-selling ring
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"Police uncovered the scheme after one of the women learned her baby
was alive and had been sold to another woman for 15,000 pesos, said
Luis Genaro, the capital's deputy attorney general.
The woman gave birth to a girl through cesarean section at the Central
West Hospital in a working-class district in October 2008, Mr Genaro
said at a news conference.
He said she told authorities she heard her baby cry but when she asked
to see the child, doctors told her she had to wait until the effects
of the anesthetics wore off. Later, doctors told her the baby had been
taken to another hospital. A day later, the woman was told her baby
died and had been cremated, he said.
The woman learned the truth from an-email sent to her by a man
believed to be the son of the hospital director, Mr Genaro said.
The woman accused of buying the newborn has been arrested. Three
doctors, a nurse and a receptionist from the hospital are also in
custody.
Mr Genaro said police believe the group sold several newborn babies
but have not yet determined how many. They face charges of trafficking
in minors, organised crime and falsifying documents.
He said a married couple has also been arrested for allegedly paying
the hospital to falsify a birth certificate for a baby that the pair
had been given.
In a report this year, the US State Department described Mexico as "a
large source, transit and destination country" for human trafficking.
The majority of victims are undocumented migrants and women and
children trafficked for sexual exploitation, according to the 2009
Trafficking in Persons report, which studied the problem worldwide.
The report said that although Mexico was stepping up efforts to crack
down, convictions against human traffickers remain rare. The report
said no trafficking offenders were convicted in Mexico in 2008."