Woman, 20, due in court after trying to sell baby on Gumtree

A South African woman appeared in court for trying to do something unthinkable to her one-and-a-half-year old baby.

While most people go to Gumtree to sell their cars, goods and services, a Pietermaritzburg woman took it too far and advertised a baby for sale on the local classifieds site.

“They told her to go with them to Pinetown, and she agreed, taking along her baby boy, who was six months [old] at the time”, police spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane said.

“Someone alerted us to the advert. We made contact with the young lady and met with her undercover on Tuesday”, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.

The 19-month-old boy has been handed over to social workers.

Mulaudzi said an investigation into the role the classified adverts site played in the matter was under way. “(We) escalated the issue to the corporate office that engages law enforcement on suspected criminal cases”.

The woman was charged for human trafficking and will appear at the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s court on Friday.