Bishkek (TDI): Kyrgyzstan’s law enforcement agencies and police have busted a transnational criminal gang engaged in sale of children abroad, authorities said the other day.
The gang involved in the illegal adoption and sale of children was disrupted in Kyrgyzstan, they told local media.
The State Committee for National Security (SCNS) reported that the group included ‘foreign and Kyrgyz citizens’.
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According to Times of Central Asia, Since 2022, the criminals used various manipulation tactics and bribery to obtain custody rights over children from socially vulnerable families, after which they illegally transported them out of the country for sale.
As a result of investigative and operational measures, the group’s leaders were now detained and placed in the SCNS’s detention center, officials reportedly said.
An investigation is ongoing to identify the remaining group members and those who assisted them, they added.
Human and child trafficking in Kyrgyzstan remains a serious issues for long.
The country is a source and transit point for human trafficking, including female and children, who are often subjected to sexual exploitation.
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A couple of years ago Pakistani authorities arrested young girls from Central Asian countries who were subjected to sexual exploitation by a gang and illegally forced to cross the border into Pakistan via Afghanistan and Baluchistan.
Analysts suggest that coordination among the regional countries, lack of resources and coordination between law enforcement and social services are problems that have delayed effective action to stop human trafficking in the region.
The regional countries are cooperating with international organizations such as the UN and Interpol to combat human trafficking.
