Police in Turin, Italy, have dismantled a baby trafficking operation, arresting four Moroccan nationals involved in smuggling a newborn girl into Italy for sale. The infant, believed to have been born in August 2024, was brought from Tangier by a Moroccan couple into Italy last October. Investigators uncovered that the little girl had not been registered on the passenger list and had been concealed in a shopping bag. Upon arrival, health concerns prompted the woman carrying her to seek medical attention. The biological mother is believed to have handed over the baby to the woman with the intention of having her sold to a family. To avoid detection, the woman and her husband, once in Italy, enlisted the help of two fellow nationals—a man and a woman—to care for the child until a buyer could be found. The investigation revealed that the suspects were actively seeking someone willing to care for the baby in exchange for money. Alternatively, if the authorities had discovered the child, they planned to transport her abroad to avoid prosecution. After weeks of investigation, on March 12, investigators from the Turin Flying Squad and the Judicial Police Section of the Prosecutor's Office, through checks and technical surveillance, located the home of the couple temporarily caring for the baby. The child, who appeared to be in good health, was taken to the hospital for medical tests while authorities searched for a foster family. The investigation uncovered irrefutable evidence against the couple who orchestrated and carried out the transport of the newborn to Italy, prompting prosecutors to issue arrest warrants for violations of the Consolidated Law on Immigration. Simultaneously, the two individuals who had temporarily cared for the child were arrested in flagrante delicto.
