Police in China have broken up a baby trafficking ring, rescuing 37 babies and arresting 103 suspects in the process, reports China Central TV.

The ring's leaders rented a factory in Jining City and allowed pregnant women from the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan to deliver babies there, CCTV said.

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The  babies were not found in good health as the traffickers treated them as commodities not human beings, CCTV said. Seven babies were suffering from diseases that included AIDS and syphilis.

The infants were fed instant noodles, placed in suitcases during transport, and hidden in an abandoned mortuary, according to police reports. Seven babies were suffering from diseases that included AIDS and syphilis.

One of the children was a three-year-old girl who had been sold by her grandmother and aunt for 42,000 yuan, according to Police. The child has since been returned to her mother.

The other 36 children are with foster parents or in care. Police said it was unlikely they would be reunited with their parents because they were the ones who sold them to the traffickers.

Baby trafficking is widespread in rural China, with many women too poor to care for their babies or who have a girl instead of a boy.

In February, Chinese police busted four child trafficking rings and arrested more than 1,000 people who were allegedly using websites and instant messaging groups to trade babies.

One woman arrested in the sting operation said she bought two baby girls from Wuhan and Chengdu in August 2013 and January 2014. A couple in their 30s told CCTV they used a Chinese website to buy a baby from an expecting teenager in Chengdu. They paid 20,000 yuan ($3,250) for the child.

TagsTraffickers Fed Babies Instant Noodles Carried Them in Suitcases, baby trafficking