Trafficked in newborn children: a criminal organization that covered up surrogate motherhood is exposed

03.08.2023 15:10

According to the materials of the operational staff of the State Border Service of Ukraine, a criminal organization was exposed, which was engaged in the sale of newborn children to foreigners under the guise of surrogate motherhood. The events in the long special operation were carried out under the procedural leadership of the Obolonsk District Prosecutor's Office of the city. Kyiv and pre-trial investigation by the investigators of the Obolon Police Department of the Main Department of the National Police in the city. Kyiv. Operational support was carried out by units of the State Border Service of Ukraine and the Main Directorate of the SBU.

Two owners of private clinics, involving accomplices, sought out women in difficult financial situations and offered for money to give birth to children from anonymous donors under the guise of surrogate motherhood. The birth certificate of babies indicated the foreign customer, which later gave him legal grounds to take the child outside the state. The next 15 years accomplices can spend behind bars.

In the course of joint actions of law enforcement agencies, it was established that representatives of a number of private medical centers from Kharkiv and Kiev, as well as other persons — lawyers, translators, are involved in a large-scale human trafficking scheme. A total of 12 people, 2 of whom are organizers of the scheme, were heads of medical institutions.

During the special operation, law enforcement officers found that the suspects for providing their services signed contracts with foreigners, according to which the cost of “services” was from 50 to 70 thousand euros. In return, women in labor were promised 12 thousand euros, but in most cases they were not paid.

As part of the investigation, the facts of illegal movement of 8 babies abroad were established and an attempt to export another child abroad was prevented, in particular last year in Kharkiv the employees of the State DPSU and the NPU detained the customer — a foreigner during the processing of documents.

During the processing of documents and the next attempt to take the newborn girl, the police detained in the city of Kharkiv a customer — a citizen of another state.

Law enforcement officers conducted more than 40 searches at the addresses of medical institutions in Kyiv and Kharkiv and the places of residence of the defendants, as a result of which computers, mobile phones, draft records, flash media and medical records were seized.

Investigators of the Obolon Police Department have initiated criminal proceedings under part four of Article 28 - the commission of a criminal offense by an organized group of persons, part three of Article 149 - trafficking in human beings and the first and second parts of Article 255 - creation, leadership of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it of a criminal gang index of Ukraine. All 12 defendants have been notified of suspicion. They face imprisonment for a term of eight to fifteen years with or without confiscation of property.