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Judges heard how vulnerable parents were targeted before babies were trafficked overseas.
By Berk Uyal, Live News Content Editor/Reporter
14:28, Tue, Jul 21, 2026 Updated: 14:29, Tue, Jul 21, 2026
Police escort defendants in baby trafficking case (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A baby trafficking gang sold 34 babies for thousands of pounds each after targeting vulnerable parents in a horror international adoption opertation, a court has heard. Nineteen members of the syndicate were convicted by an Indonesian court on Tuesday after judges found they had trafficked at least 34 babies from Indonesia between 2022 and 2025. Some of the infants were taken to Singapore and sold under the guise of adoption.
The gang targeted vulnerable parents, many struggling to afford childbirth, allegedly offering them money before forging birth certificates and other legal documents to conceal the babies' origins. Those documents were then used to obtain passports and adoption papers. The longest jail term of seven years was handed to 70-year-old Lie Siu Luan, also known as Lily, who the court ruled was the mastermind behind the operation. Astri Fitrinika, 26, Djaka Hamdani, 35, Lai Siu Ha, 60, and Elin Marlina were each jailed for six years and seven months for their roles in recruiting babies or forging documents used to conceal their origins.
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Mandatory Credit: Photo by DIMAS R/EPA/Shutterstock (17000772a) Members of baby trafficking syndicat (Image: DIMAS R/EPA/Shutterstock)
The remaining 14 defendants received prison terms of three years and four months for playing lesser roles in the operation. Court documents showed Lily admitted trafficking at least 12 babies to Singapore after being contacted by people she described as adoption agents. She told the court the babies were sold for between S$17,000 and S$21,600 (around £9,900 to £12,500) each.
The court heard the gang scoured social media and online adoption groups to find expectant parents, many of whom were struggling to afford childbirth. Recruiters allegedly offered expectant parents between nine million and 15 million Indonesian rupiah before forging paperwork listing syndicate members as the children's parents or guardians.
Those documents were then allegedly used to obtain passports and complete adoption paperwork, allowing some of the babies to be taken to Singapore.
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Eight babies rescued when members of the syndicate were arrested during raids last year have been placed in the care of social services in Indonesia.
Prosecutor Cucu Gantina said authorities are still trying to determine what happened to babies believed to have been taken to Singapore.
She said: "As for the babies in Singapore, we couldn't identify who the adoption agents were, so we had no way of knowing what happened to the babies. Police will keep investigating the case."
The convictions can still be appealed. Lily accepted the verdict, while convicted document forger Lai Siu Ha said she intended to challenge her sentence.
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