Overview

• On July 18, Indonesian police detained 13 suspects—one man and 12 women—in coordinated raids across West Java and Pontianak and rescued six infants aged two to six months.
• Authorities believe the network produced at least 24 infants since early 2023, with 15 sold to adoptive parents in Singapore.
• Traffickers recruited pregnant women and ‘booked’ babies before birth, paid mothers minimal sums and relied on forged birth certificates, family cards and passports to conceal the children’s identities.
• Investigators are working with Interpol and Singaporean law enforcement to locate the remaining trafficked children and identify those who purchased them.
• Officials and child protection advocates are calling for tighter hospital maternity protocols, expanded social services and stricter adoption laws to prevent future trafficking.