More than 600 arrested in child trafficking investigation

Chinese police have arrested 608 suspects and rescued 178 children in a raid of two separate child trafficking networks, authorities said today.

A statement posted online said that 5,000 police across 10 provinces co-operated for six months on the investigation and moved in to arrest the suspects last week.

It said prosecutors were preparing cases against the suspects, suggesting that charges have yet to be filed.

Child trafficking is major problem in China, where traditional preference for male heirs and a restrictive one-child policy has driven a thriving market in baby boys, who fetch a considerably higher price than girls. Girls and women are also abducted and often used as labourers or as brides for unmarried sons.

Tens of thousands of children go missing every year, though the exact numbers of victims are difficult to obtain.

The rescued children will be put into orphanages while authorities try to reunite them with their families, the statement said. It did not give the age range of the abducted children or other specifics.

It said they were temporarily in the care of female police officers while the Ministry of Civil Affairs was finding places for them in orphanages.

An investigation into a road accident in south China's Sichuan province in May led police to the first ring, which was allegedly selling children abducted or bought in Sichuan to buyers in central China's Hebei province and elsewhere. The ring had links to at least 26 gangs nationwide, it said.

The second ring was uncovered in August and was based in south-east China's Fujian province and led by a female suspect identified as Chen Xiumei.

The statement said police have cracked more than 7,000 gangs or rings that sold women or children since a special campaign against human trafficking started in April 2009. It said 18,518 children and 34,813 women have been rescued.