South African mom arrested after trying to sell baby online for $380

The Hawks says they’re trying to track down the baby’s biological parents.

A 20-year-old woman has been charged with human trafficking in South Africa after allegedly trying to sell her child for 5,000 rand ($380; £250) on advertising website Gumtree.

‘We met her and there was an exchange of money with an undercover police officer, ‘ Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesman for the Hawks special crimes investigation unit, told AFP on Friday.

“What we have already ascertained is that the baby is not hers and the baby is now with the care of social workers”. “[We] escalated the issue to the corporate office that engages law enforcement on suspected criminal cases”.

“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.

The woman was not asked to plead in the Pietermaritzburg magistrates court and will be held in custody until the case continues on 26 October.