Six arrested in Spain over alleged sale of children, including a mother in Badajoz

The arrests

Spain's National Police and the Guardia Civil carried out a joint operation against the alleged sale of minors on Wednesday, 4 November, and detained six people. Officers carried out three house searches, in Badajoz city, in Montijo (Badajoz province) and in Linares (Jaén province). According to the reports, the investigation is run by the National Police's Unit for Family and Women's Care (UFAM) together with the judicial police of the Guardia Civil. Police sources said the detentions were, in principle, for the sale of minors, and that further details would be released in a press note.

The woman detained

Among the six people held is a woman described as Spanish. Police sources told Europa Press that she had devoted herself to selling her own children. Citing police sources, a neighbour told LaSexta that the woman had sold four of her children after giving birth, a claim that has not been confirmed in the official accounts. The same police sources stressed that the suspects were not simply taking children and selling them. It is not yet known whether more minors were involved, and the identity and role of the other alleged members of the network have not been disclosed.

Government response

The government delegate in Extremadura, María Teresa Macías, confirmed that six people had been detained and that searches had taken place in Linares, Badajoz and Montijo. She said the investigation is open and that the National Police and the Guardia Civil were the bodies taking part. Macías declined to give further details because of the sensitivity of the matter and the judicial involvement, and said court proceedings had to be respected. She made these remarks to reporters after meeting Samuel Moraleda and Antonio Yáñez, the presidents of the Guadiana and Tajo hydrographic confederations.

What comes next

LaSexta reported that witness statements would be taken on Thursday, 5 November. ABC reported that the investigation remains open and that new actions are not ruled out as the inquiry progresses. Police have not said when the promised press note will be published, and no further arrests have been reported in the sources reviewed.