Doctors accused of selling babies

Three doctors and a nurse have been arrested for allegedly selling newborn babies after telling mothers their children had died at a private hospital in Mexico City.

Police uncovered the scheme after one of the women learned her baby was alive and had been sold to another woman for 15,000 pesos (£680), said Luis Genaro, the capital's deputy attorney general.

The woman gave birth to a girl through caesarean section at the Central West Hospital in a working-class district in October 2008, Mr Genaro said at a news conference.

He said she told authorities she heard her baby cry but when she asked to see the child, doctors told her she had to wait until the effects of the anaesthetic wore off.

Later, doctors told her the baby had been taken to another hospital. A day later, the woman was told her baby died and had been cremated.

The woman learned the truth from an email sent to her by a man believed to be the son of the hospital director, Mr Genaro said.

The woman accused of buying the newborn has been arrested. Three doctors, a nurse and a receptionist from the hospital are also in custody.

Mr Genaro said police believe the group sold several newborn babies but have not yet determined how many. They face charges of trafficking in minors, organised crime and falsifying documents.

He said a married couple has also been arrested for allegedly paying the hospital to falsify a birth certificate for a baby that the pair had been given.

Source: The Belfast Telegraph