Chinese police officers have rescued 15 babies and arrested 78 suspected child traffickers after busting a child trafficking ring in Shandong province in eastern China. The kidnappers are suspected to have taken the babies from Sichuan province to sell them in Shandong province.

Police authorities revealed that the ring was lead by a local resident of Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture identified as Hama Erji. Out of the 78 suspects caught, 36 were from the same region. 

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According to officials, the ring has been under investigation by the Public Security Ministry since June 2015. Four inspecting teams were dispatched to Shandong province where the ring was finally broken up after a 2-month long investigation.

The rescued babies have undergone DNA testing. Their blood samples were obtained at a local police station on Monday. Currently, no further details about the case has been revealed, and law enforcement officers are conducting further investigations into the ring and their operations.

A report published by CNN last year said some of these babies were infected with HIV/AIDS and some were suffering from malnutrition. The babies were reportedly sold from 50,000 to 80,000 yuan (USD $8,000 to $12,912), and boys are more expensive than girls.

The abducted babies are usually placed inside a large handbag or suitcase when delivered to possible buyers. While waiting to be sold yet, they are reportedly fed with instant noodles and leftover vegetables.

According to the director of the Anti-trafficking Office of the Ministry of Public Security, Chen Shiqu, different schemes are implemented with regard to child trafficking-related crimes. For instance, some rings of human traffickers send pregnant women to other cities to deliver their babies and sell them after birth, while other utilize abandoned factories as an underground delivery room.

In China, child trafficking has become a major problem. Child traffickers selling more than three children under the Chinese law may be put behind bars for up to 10 years, while death sentence may be given in severe cases. 

TagsHuman Trafficking, Human Rights, child-trafficking, Kidnapping