Greek investigators have dug with Europol a gang of criminals who are said to have traded with newborn babies and with egg cells. Twelve people were arrested, Europol told The Hague.
Accordingly, the gang since 2016 recruited young pregnant women from Bulgaria and brought them to the Greek Thessaloniki. There, the women are said to have given birth to their children in private clinics. According to Europol, the babies were illegally adopted for around € 25,000 each.
Some of the young women were brought to Thessaloniki as surrogate mothers. Further details Europol has not yet called. The gang had also traded with human ova, but donors were also recruited in Greece. However, these women mainly came from Bulgaria, Georgia and Russia to undergo fertility treatment in Thessaloniki.
A total of 66 people are determined, Europol said. During house searches, detective officers seized large sums of cash, cars, cell phones, and computers. In addition, adoption papers and birth certificates should have been secured.