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Rabat – A Moroccan couple were reportedly detained in the Italian city of Turin for allegedly smuggling a baby girl into the European country with the intention of trafficking her.
Sources reported that the mother’s child gave the two-month old newborn to the couple in October last year to bring her from Tangier to Italy by ship to be sold to another family.
In order to surpass the registration procedures, the couple allegedly hid the baby in a shopping bag for the entire journey. The sea trip from Tangier to Turin takes a minimum of three days and seven hours — a blatant and gross endangerment of the baby’s life.
This inhumane treatment caused the child to suffer health complications due to the inhumane way she had been handled, but she had made a complete recovery upon being taken to the hospital.
The case was uncovered following the submission of a report to the public prosecutor’s office of Turin. Law enforcements later revealed that a Moroccan couple had been holding a baby for several weeks for the alleged purpose of selling her.
Investigations reportedly revealed that the couple enlisted the help of two other Moroccans who temporarily hid the baby while the couple was actively seeking a family that would buy the baby for money. . The couple also allegedly considered trafficking the baby to another country in order to avoid being caught.
After the investigation concluded, Italian authorities were able to successfully identify the suspects on March 12, and the child was transferred to a local hospital for medical evaluation.
The medical reports luckily confirmed that the baby is in good health and child welfare authorities are working on finding a permanent foster home for her.
There is currently no information on the baby’s mother or any confirmation on the circumstances surrounding her giving up the baby.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first case of child smuggling related to Morocco. In 2024 Moroccan authorities arrested 30 people under suspicion of being involved in a newborn trafficking ring in Fez. In a shocking turn of events, the suspects included 18 security guards, a doctor and two nurses.
Morocco continues to affirm its commitment to combat and prevent human trafficking as part of the Blue Heart Campaign, which aims to raise awareness about human trafficking and its effects on people and society.
