Nearly 400 babies were rescued in China as authorities busted four child-trafficking rings involving over 1,000 people. The perpetrators used instant messaging and websites to sell the babies, Chinese officials told CNN.
Chinese officials rescued 382 babies across 27 Chinese provinces and arrested 1,094 people on Feb. 19.
China, with a population of 1.4 billion and a one-child per family policy, is currently facing a shortage of women. Male babies are preferred over girls because they are seen as the future heads of the family, The Guardian reported. Female babies are either aborted or abandoned. The demand for boys has led to an increase in illegally obtained male babies, as well as baby girls being given away as brides in exchange for large dowries, The Guardian reported.
Using websites has proven to be an almost impenetrable cover for child traffickers.
"Child traffickers have now taken the fight online, using 'unofficial adoption' as a front," police told China's state-run news agency Xinhua, according to The Guardian. "They are well-hidden and very deceptive."
The six-month investigation into the trafficking rings began when police in Beijing and Jiangsu were alerted to reports of a website that advertised private adoptions, CNN reported.
Police found four websites and dozens of groups that communicated with buyers on a well-known Chinese messaging board.
Website names included China's Orphan Network and Dream Adoption Home, according to The Guardian.
One woman who was arrested confessed to buying two baby girls from Wuhan and Chengdu in January 2014 and August 2013, Chinese broadcaster CCTV reported, according to CNN. Another couple in their 30s bought a baby from a pregnant teenager for 20,000 yuan, or $3,250.
Xinhua did not say how the babies will be united with their families, according to The Guardian. China's Ministry of Public Security said the investigation into the baby-trafficking rings is ongoing, CNN reported.
