6 babies rescued as Indonesia busts trafficking ring, 5 bound for buyers in Singapore: Reports

SINGAPORE: Six infants, with five allegedly intended to be sold to buyers in Singapore, have been rescued by local authorities in Indonesia after they busted a baby-trafficking ring that has reportedly carried out 24 such deals since 2023. 

And of the 24 infants that have already been sold, 15 were taken to Singapore, Director of General Crime Investigation of West Java Police Department Surawan told CNA when contacted. 

He added that of the six babies rescued, five were ready to be sent to buyers in Singapore, while one was to be sent to Pontianak.

He had earlier told local media that the six rescued babies were aged between two to three months old.

“According to the suspects’ statements, the babies were to be adopted in Singapore but we are still investigating this further,” Surawan was quoted as saying by news outlet CNN Indonesia.  

Twelve people have been named suspects in the alleged human trafficking case and were arrested, Hendra Rochmawan, head of public relations for West Java Police, told local media on Monday. It is unclear when they were arrested. 

He said the 12 suspects held different roles in the syndicate, including acting as initial recruiters to being caregivers to the babies as well as couriers who deliver the infants to the clients’ intended locations that include Singapore, local media Kompas reported. 

CNA has reached out to Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Singapore Police Force for comments.

INVESTIGATIONS ONGOING 

Authorities in Indonesia say the 12 suspects are undergoing interrogation for further investigations. 

“We did not only detain the suspects, we also seized some evidence such as (fake) identity cards, passports and other documents identifying the victims,” Hendra was quoted as saying by local media. 

Meanwhile, Surawan also confirmed that the babies were intended to be transported to Singapore. 

“Through the suspects, we managed to rescue five babies in Pontianak that were supposed to be sent to Singapore and already had the necessary documents. We also rescued another baby in Tangerang a few days ago,” Surawan said. 

He added: “We are still investigating the babies that are already in Singapore and will coordinate with the Interpol to pursue this case further.” 

According to Surawan, the six infants rescued were sent to Bhayangkara Sartika Asih Hospital  in Bandung for medical treatment.

“The plan is for all victims to be placed in the shelter of the West Java Social Service,” said Surawan, as quoted by Kompas. 

He said that the baby trafficking syndicate came to light after a parent made a report that his child had been kidnapped by an unknown person.

“Most of the cases originate from West Java. The case started from a report made by a parent whose child was kidnapped and we developed the case based on the suspects in West Java,” Surawan was quoted as saying by CNN Indonesia. 

Based on interrogations of the suspects, the police found that each baby successfully transported to Singapore was sold for the price of about tens of millions of rupiah per baby. 

“The babies were bought from the biological mothers for about 11 million to 16 million rupiah,” said Surawan in another interview on Tuesday, as quoted by CNN Indonesia. 

Surawan added that the suspects had obtained some of the babies from parents who voluntarily gave them up while others were allegedly kidnapped. 

This is not the first time a baby smuggling ring to Singapore from Indonesia was reported. 

In 2016, Indonesian authorities arrested three suspects in Batam for allegedly planning to sell a three-month-old baby boy to Singapore for about US$8,000. 

Additional reporting by Denny Armandhanu