Dutch nab alleged child smugglers

The Dutch prosecutor has arrested a Dutch couple on suspicion of falsifying adoption papers, a spokesperson for the prosecutor in Zwolle-Lelystad said yesterday.

The 25-year-old woman and the 44-year-old man were arrested on Monday and Tuesday respectively. The two were arrested for the first time by the Sri Lankan authorities on July 27, 2007. They allegedly falsified adoption papers in an attempt to smuggle a two-week-old baby out of the country.

The couple allegedly were prepared to pay a large sum to complete the adoption. In 2007 they remained in custody until September but were not indicted and were subsequently released.

The Dutch prosecution thinks the two had tried to falsify the adoption papers again in October 2007 in an attempt to get the baby adopted nevertheless.

Sri Lanka and the Netherlands are both parties to the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Inter-Country Adoption. Sapa-dpa