Members of an alleged “baby-harvesting” and child-trafficking syndicate have been arrested in Ghana after they sold two babies to investigators for $9,800.

The investigators, who had gone undercover, bought the babies for $5,000 and $4,800 each, the BBC reports.

Eleven suspects, including two doctors, four nurses, two mothers, two social welfare officers, and a traditional birth attendant, were nabbed over the incident.

They were allegedly operating at health facilities in the capital, Accra, and the neighbouring city of Tema.

Authorities believe some of the mothers may have been told their babies had died after delivery.

They say others who were unable to take care of their newborns may have been encouraged to sell them.

The two rescued baby boys are now in the care of the authorities.

According to the BBC, the case has come as a surprise to many in Ghana, where talk of “baby-harvesting” is not new but until now there had been no evidence of the practice.

Elsewhere in the continent, a number of so-called “baby factories” have been reported in recent years in Nigeria, and Kenya’s government has ordered an investigation into the theft and sale of babies following a BBC investigation.

The investigations that led to this week’s arrests in Ghana lasted several months and were jointly led by the Ghana Medical and Dental Council and the Economic and Organised Crime Office.

They were first alerted to the alleged suspects last year when a taxi driver gave a tip-off.

The licenses of the two arrested doctors have been withheld until a court determines the case.

BBC