Police unravel market where babies are bought, sold as commodities

The rescue of 15 infants from a child-trafficking gang by 78 police officers has drawn attention to poverty and lack of legal awareness in the country's poorest regions.

The infants, the youngest only four days old, have been sent to welfare institutions for temporary placement. Most hail from the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Blood samples of the 15 infants have been taken to help identify their parents through a national DNA database. Most of the infants were sold voluntarily by their parents, according to Chen Shiqu, director of the anti-human-trafficking office of the Ministry of Public Security.