A covert abortion ring operating in the suburbs of Rabat, Morocco, has been unearthed by the Royal Gendarmerie following a targeted raid. The clandestine group was operating mostly in Temara and attracting clients mostly from poor neighborhoods in Rabat. The ring was spearheaded by a woman in her fifties, already known to authorities due to previous criminal activities. She was arrested at her residence in Ain Atiq (15 minutes drive from Rabat).
The raid was triggered by a Facebook post from a 17-year-old girl seeking advice on a forced abortion. The revelation on social media resulted in one user sharing an apartment’s location, leading the authorities to closely monitor the situation, before dismantling the ring.
Surveillance of her whereabouts unearthed her connections to an extensive network involved in child trafficking, as well as the illicit abduction of infants, among other criminal offenses.
It is suspected that the woman exploited her criminal network to broker the sale of infants to affluent families incapable of having children, who in turn provided financial compensation for these illicit transactions.
The Moroccan Times.
