A six-week-old baby boy born to a teenage mother in Spain and allegedly trafficked into the UK has been rescued by police in Britain.
Spanish police believe up to £11,000 may have been paid for the child, who was born in the northern city of Zamora at the start of September. The mother of the baby is believed to be Romanian and the couple he was allegedly intended for are Spanish.
South Wales police said on Friday that a 19-year-old woman, a 25-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman had been arrested and bailed after the child was found in Cardiff. The child is now being cared for by social services.
Spanish police said they were continuing to seek anyone involved in the alleged trafficking in Spain. They said babies are being sold for between £2,000 and £11,000.
Police say the child was born in the Virgen de la Concha hospital in Zamora, and the mother registered the birth there. Mother and child travelled to Cardiff from where the mother allegedly informed Spanish authorities that the baby had died when he was 15 days old following an operation at a hospital in Wales for an injury to a vein.
Officers in Spain were suspicious and contacted their counterparts at South Wales police, who found the mother and the two Spanish people in the Cardiff Bay area of the city.
All three have been granted bail while further inquiries are carried out. A DNA test is being carried out to help establish the paternity of the child. It is not known whether the three adults travelled from Spain together or whether the Spanish couple were already in Cardiff.
The investigation involved international police co-operation under the the Sirene network, which supports cooperation and coordination between law enforcement agencies in the EU member states.
A South Wales police spokesman said: “The six-week old baby boy is safe and well and remains in the care of the local authority. We can confirm that three people have been arrested in connection with an investigation into concerns for a baby in Cardiff. Two females aged 19 and 26 and a male aged 25 have all been released on police bail pending further inquiries.”
