French bust Bulgarian baby-smuggling ring

French police have arrested five couples who allegedly bought babies from a Bulgarian smuggling ring.

The children, all around 18 months old, had been purchased for up to 6,000 euros ($7,000), the BBC reported Tuesday.

The couples will be charged with kidnapping, incitement to child abandonment, falsification of birth certificates and human smuggling, the report said.

Police were alerted to the baby-smuggling scheme by a Bulgarian mother who reportedly regretted taking part in it. Bulgarian and French authorities investigated the case for more than a year.

French authorities tracked down a Bulgarian family that was offering between 400 and 1,000 euros (about $475-$1,200) to poor, pregnant young women if they would travel to France to give birth and then give their baby to a French couple.

A judge in a French children's court will decide whether to return the babies to their adoptive parents or place them in foster care.

© Copyright 2005 by United Press International