How child snatch gangs are kidnapping kids around the world to sell on as sex slaves to depraved paedophiles
A MISSING child is the most horrifying thing a parent can imagine – and as the world once again focuses on child abductions, The Sun Online takes a look at the vile global trade in kids ‘stolen to order’ by child snatchers.
Following recent developments in the Madeleine McCann case, there are hopes that many other high profile missing child cases could still be solved – even years later.
But the grim reality is that many of the children snatched off the world’s streets are targets of so-called ‘steal to order’ gangs who pass their victims on to vile sex trafficking rings or organ harvesters for a huge price.
According to Missing Children Europe, 250,000 children vanish every year in the EU alone. That’s a staggering one child disappearing every two minutes.
Thankfully criminal abductions make up just 0.4% of that number – that’s 1,000 children a year or two a day.
But what happens to some of those 1,000 children is truly horrific – snatched and sold on to the highest bidder for often sinister purposes.
It had previously been suggested that missing British girl Madeleine McCann could have been snatched from a Praia De Luz apartment in 2007 by an ‘abducted to order’ child trafficking gang.
But following last week’s bombshell press conference, German cops now believe serial sexual predator Christian B to be the key suspect in her disappearance and fear she was quickly murdered by the notorious paedo.
CHILD TRAFFICKING
Many other missing children may have fallen into the hands of sinister pimp-like traffickers, however, with around 50% of all ‘criminal abduction of children’ cases being carried out by total strangers.
According to Missing Children in Europe, in 2019, most of the child victims of a criminal abduction were located within a week – 53% alive and 20% deceased.
Horrifically 27% of children ‘criminally abducted’ were not found within a year.
Research tells us that in this type of abduction, the first 4 hours after the abduction are the most crucial in finding the child alive.
Just last month a prolific child sex trafficking ring was discovered in Australia with 16 people across five states being charged with more than 700 child exploitation offences.
The vile group preyed on innocent children before putting child abuse material onto an online website where users paid for access.
The gang is now being investigated over a possible link to missing three-year-old toddler William Tyrell, dubbed the ‘Australian Madeleine McCann’ after he went missing from his foster grandparents’ garden in 2014.
Peggy Knobloch, nine, also vanished on her way home from school in May 2001 but her remains were not discovered until 15 years later in a forest near her home in Bavaria, Germany.
Just like Madeleine’s disappearance in Portugal in 2007, some believe she may have been abducted by an organised child trafficking gang.
However, Maddie McCann cops now fear paedo Christian B could be linked to the ‘German Maddie’ case after she was snatched and killed.
We have a quota of two children per week. Our target age is ten years old and above.
Lilibeth Bustamante
Last year, a female kidnapper revealed sickening details of how gangs abduct children in the Philippines to sell to foreign paedophiles – with an extra bonus for how pretty they are.
Lilibeth Bustamante was caught trying to walk away with a ten-year-old girl in Paranaque City but after being caught revealed how she was paid £15 per child she abducted, selling the kids for up to £1,455 each on behalf of Philippine gangs.
Bustamante said: “We have a quota of two children per week. Our target age is ten years old and above. They require us to take good-looking children.”
A British teacher and former Buddhist monk was also spared jail despite being found guilty of kidnapping children to use them as sex slaves in 2016.
Thai judges found pervert Fabian Frederick Blandford, 64, guilty of committing sex acts with minors and trafficking and selling children for sex and for use in pornography.
However, the majority of younger children and babies are actually sold to childless couples – often in the US – for an average of £25,000, making it a lucrative business for the child-snatching gangs.
In many parts of the world, including China, Africa and India, infants are taken from hospitals by corrupt doctors and nurses, while others are snatched from their parents’ arms in public and sold for as little as £25.
A recent video revealed almost 50 surrogate babies stranded in a Ukrainian ‘baby factory’ due to be collected by parents from the UK, USA, Italy, Spain, France, Israel, Germany, China, Mexico, Romania and other countries.
Parents are believed to have paid between £5,745 and £57,365 for services from the organisation that has assisted them with starting families.
Just last year a report from the Telegraph revealed that children were also being swept up by organ harvest gangs after fleeing Europe in a desperate attempt to escape.
Lungs, kidneys, livers, hearts and corneas are among the most sought-after organs being sold on the black market around the world for huge sums.
Once described as a ‘modern urban myth’ the horrific trade is certainly a reality with Analysis from the National Crime Agency data revealing that in 2018, four children were among those who were flagged to authorities, having claimed that they were under threat of being killed for their organs.
Trafficking for organ removal is primarily detected in North Africa, Central and South-Eastern Europe, and Eastern Europe.
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Despite some cases of child abduction ending in tragedy, others have shocked the world when lost kids have reappeared many years later.
Jaycee Dugard, who was abducted aged nine in California was found 18 years later while Carlina White was snatched as a baby from a New York hospital in 1987 – only learning the truth 23 years later.
Elizabeth Smart was also kidnapped at age fourteen on in 2002, by Brian David Mitchell and his wife from her home in Utah before being discovered nine months 18 miles from her home.
Elizabeth’s father contacted Kate McCann to give words of support and to said how he had told her to ‘keep the faith, keep hope alive’.
