Vietnam Police Charge 14 With Child Trafficking
HANOI - Vietnam police
have charged 14 people for alleged
involvement in an adoption racket
that illegally sold children to
foreigners, official media reported
Monday.
The official Cong An Nhan Dan
(People's Police) newspaper said
investigators in the northern province
of Ninh Binh, 56 miles south of
Hanoi, had found that a senior official
from the provincial justice
department was allegedly involved in
the scam.
The paper did not say how many
children the ring had allegedly sold
for adoption, but said those accused
dealt in orphans, disabled children
and also cared for pregnant women
before buying new-born babies.
Ninh Binh police, when contacted by
Reuters, confirmed the case but
declined to provide further details.
Adoptions of Vietnamese babies by
foreign nationals have soared in
recent years, although diplomats say
some couples try to speed the
process by using unauthorized
agents.
Last May a Vietnamese court failed
to reach a verdict in the trial of 11
people charged with trafficking 199
children through an illegal adoption
ring in southern province of An
Giang.
Reuters - July 5, 1999.
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