Police have arrested a key suspect in the alleged trafficking of five newborn babies in north China's Hebei Province.
Hebei police apprehended Zhang Shuanglong, who allegedly sold the babies to two other traffickers, in his home city of Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, on July 5.
Police set up road blocks, which resulted in the rescue of another three babies and the arrest of four suspects in a separate case on June 29.
In the early hours of June 3, traffic police found the three baby boys and two girls all about 10 days old on the backseat of a black VW Santana sedan near the toll gate on the Qingdao-Yinchuan Freeway, in Nangong, a county-level city in Hebei.
The car caught the attention of a highway patrol officer when its driver suddenly switched lanes while waiting to pay the toll. The officer became suspicious when he noticed the car's trunk was missing a lock and looked as if it had been tampered with.
When the policeman tried to question the driver, he and another man in the passenger seat refused to get out or roll down their windows. A minute later, they suddenly jumped out brandishing knives and ran away.
The two men were said to have escaped into the fields adjacent to the freeway and disappeared. Police gave chase but failed to catch them.
Police found the car was stolen in Shanghai in May. The license plate belonged to Zhang Shuanglong, who allegedly confessed after his arrest that he sold the babies to the two man nicknamed "Xiaohei" and "Xiaoliang".
The eight babies were taken to the Friendship Hospital in Nangong, where they are reported to be in good health.
However, their identities remain a mystery despite Hebei police calling on parents of disappeared infants in east China for DNA samples.
Source: Xinhua
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