Moroccan police have arrested 30 people suspected of involvement in a child trafficking ring targeting newborn babies in the northern city of Fez, state media reported.
Among those arrested are 18 security guards, a doctor, two nurses, other health professionals as well as intermediaries, the Moroccan news agency MAP reported late Wednesday, citing a security source.
They did not specify the number of babies allegedly trafficked. A number of those arrested are suspected "of being intermediaries in the sale of newborns from single mothers... to families wishing to adopt abandoned children", the source said.
Others were arrested for allegedly taking money from "patients and their families in exchange for appointments for consultation, diagnosis or visits" as well as "issuing medical certificates with false information".
The operation by the judicial police of Fez in coordination with Morocco's internal intelligence agency also led to the seizure of "prescription-only medication, medicines which cannot be sold, medical equipment and sums of money" at the homes of suspects.