Women and Child Protection Minister Commends Police Criminal Investigation Directorate for Dismantling Baby Trafficking Syndicate
Indonesia’s Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), Arifah Fauzi, has strongly condemned human trafficking offences (TPPO), particularly baby trafficking syndicates, and has commended the National Police Criminal Investigation Directorate (Bareskrim Polri) for successfully dismantling this serious criminal operation.
“Baby trafficking represents a severe violation of children’s rights to life, care, and protection. Children are not commodities to be bought and sold under any circumstances. We commend the dedicated work of the Anti-Trafficking and Child Protection Unit (Dit PPA and PPO) at Bareskrim Polri, which has successfully developed and investigated the child abduction case of infant B in Makassar,” said Minister Arifah to journalists on Friday, 27 February 2026.
She reported that based on the investigation findings, authorities have arrested 12 suspects. Eight operated as intermediaries, whilst the remaining four are biological parents of the trafficked infants. The network operated across multiple regions.
“This operation constitutes part of an organised network exploiting family vulnerabilities. Law enforcement must be maximised to the fullest extent. Every individual involved in baby trafficking networks must be held accountable to ensure no space remains for similar practices in the future,” she added.
Furthermore, she stated that the PPPA Ministry is committed to overseeing case handling through coordination with law enforcement authorities and other relevant parties to implement crucial child protection measures and fulfil children’s rights as a means of preventing such crimes from recurring.
“Baby trafficking schemes are often driven by economic vulnerability. One approach that can be adopted is cross-sectoral coordination to ensure vulnerable families gain access to social assistance, economic empowerment, and educational support for children,” she explained.
According to the National Police Criminal Investigation Directorate, 12 suspects were arrested in connection with the human trafficking operation involving baby trafficking. Deputy Chief of the Criminal Investigation Directorate, Inspector General Nunung Syaifudin, stated that the dismantling of this syndicate resulted from development of a previous child abduction case in Makassar.
“This case disclosure represents development from a previous abduction case in Makassar, specifically involving infant Bilqis, aged four, whom you may recall from media reports,” said Nunung during a press conference at Bareskrim Polri, South Jakarta, on Wednesday, 25 February 2026.
Nunung indicated that his unit collaborated with the Anti-Terrorism Specialised Detachment (Densus 88) to dismantle the baby trafficking network operating across multiple Indonesian regions.
Director of the Anti-Trafficking and Child Protection Unit, Brigadier General Nurul Azizah, clarified that the twelve suspects comprised two clusters: an intermediary cluster of eight persons and a biological parents cluster of four persons.
They conducted baby trafficking operations across Jakarta, Banten, Yogyakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi, Jambi, Bali, East Kalimantan, Riau Islands, and Papua.
“A total of 12 individuals have been designated as suspects, comprising eight from the intermediary group and four from the biological parents group,” said Nurul.
The eight intermediary suspects are NH (female), LA (female), S (male), EMT (female), ZH (female), H (female), BSN (female), and F (female). The four biological parent suspects are CPS (female), DRH (female), IP (female), and REP (male).