Police rescue 89 abducted kids, arrest 355

A NATIONAL operation in China has busted nine child abduction gangs, arresting 355 suspects and rescuing 89 children.

The Ministry of Public Security said it conducted the nine-province operation this month after receiving reports of child abductions in Fujian and Yunnan provinces, Xinhua news agency reported.

The ministry said the child trafficking activities spanned several provinces and that the suspects bought abducted children in provinces including Yunnan and Sichuan and transported them to other provinces, where they were sold. All the rescued children are being cared for by local civil affairs administrations, and officials will collect their DNA to find their parents.

The umbilical cord of one trafficked baby was still attached when it was rescued by police in Sichuan Province.

Police said some village officials responsible for family planning were found to be involved in trafficking. Civil servants were also among buyers in Fujian Province.

The operation took place starting on December 18 in nine provinces that also included Anhui and Guangdong.

Chen Shiqu, director of the ministry's Child-Trafficking Strike Office, said that since the country launched a special campaign against child-trafficking in April 2009, Chinese police have destroyed about 11,000 gangs and saved more than 54,000 children.

Wang Xizhang, vice chief of Fujian Criminal Investigation Corps, said that such gangs often had clear labor divisions. Some were in charge of buying and abducting kids, some looked for buyers and some were in charge of transportation.

"A child bought for about 30,000 yuan (US$4,809) in Yunnan could be sold for 70,000 to 90,000 yuan to the end buyer. It was low cost and huge profit," said Wang. "Many of the traffickers were middle-aged women in rural areas, who had poor educational backgrounds and little income."

"They usually covered children up with thick blankets and clothes," said Li Xiaowei, a Fujian police officer who participated in the joint action. "Many of the abducted children were newborn babies. They could not stand such a trip and often died of diseases or even suffocation."

Chen said a national DNA database for abducted people was established in June 2011. It collects samples from parents who report children missing and from kids thought to have been abducted.