ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police say seven people have been arrested in northern Greece for allegedly being part of an illegal adoption ring that sold babies from Bulgaria to childless couples in neighboring Greece.
The arrests were announced Wednesday in Trikala, a city 330 kilometers (205 miles) north of Athens, after police officers posing as an adoption-seeking couple negotiated the sale of a 21-day-old baby boy for 10,000 euros ($12,800).
The suspects included the boy’s Bulgarian mother, a lawyer and notary public from Greece and two other Greek suspects accused of organizing at least 10 other illegal adoptions since 2007.
Illegal adoption in Greece typically motivated by frequent procedural delays and the country’s relative affluence compared to its Balkan neighbors.
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