"Babies and other crazy things criminals sell on Instragram," 12 October 2018

Indonesian authorities said they arrested four people in connection to a baby-selling ring that uses Instagram recently in yet another revelation of how criminal elements abuse social media websites.

The bust came after the authorities intercepted a transaction from an account claiming to be an adoption agency which posted pictures of pregnant women, ultrasound scans and babies...

Police...said the account listed a phone number so that interested buyers could contact the seller via WhatsApp.

The authorities said after tracing the transaction, they are now looking for one baby who was recently sold.

The company in question had disguised itself as a consultation offering to solve family problems...

The account also featured what appeared to be conversations between the company and clients.

Rita Pranawati, vice-chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), said although there have been cases of baby-trafficking in the country, baby-selling on the social media outlet was a new phenomenon.

“It’s very rare to happen through Instagram. It’s a new modus.”

The motives of the buyers were not clear but Pranawati said most people wanting to buy a baby through such means could not do so the legal way.