Employees of the National Security Committee department in Almaty, together with the Organised Crime Control Unit (UBOP) of the city police department, have shut down the activities of a criminal group suspected of trafficking newborns.
According to Polisia.kz, the criminal scheme had been operating for several years. It is reported that the organisers used social networks to establish contact with women from socially vulnerable segments of the population, including foreign nationals, who were willing to give up their children. The offenders acted as intermediaries in the illegal transfer of newborns to people wishing to purchase a child.
Thus, law enforcement officers uncovered a case of selling a newborn boy for a large sum. During the money exchange, the suspects were caught red-handed.
The child was placed under state protection and housed in a specialised institution.
"This is not about an isolated attempt. We believe there was an established scheme, possibly with interregional connections. Work to identify all those involved is ongoing. Illegal actions against children, especially newborns, are a cynical and serious crime. Not a single such case will be left without a proper legal assessment," emphasised the First Deputy Head of the Almaty Police Department, Kuatbek Nauatov.
It is worth recalling that in January 2023, it was reported that the Taraz prosecutor's office, together with the organised crime control unit of the police department of the Zhambyl Region, suppressed a case of trafficking in newborns.
In February, in the West Kazakhstan Region (WKR), another woman was detained for a similar crime. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that a 32-year-old resident of the WKR had sold children born in 2021 and 2022.
In September 2023, in the Zhetysu Region, a 23-year-old woman was detained on charges of child trafficking. It became known that she had sold her two children born in 2022 and 2023 through intermediaries. The first incident took place in October 2022, and the second in August 2023. In both cases, the transaction amount was 1 million tenge.