Bogotá, May 30 (RHC-PL), --  A clandestine clinic in Cúcuta, North Santander, Colombia selling newborn babies for two thousand dollars, was occupied by the police, said reports from that region Friday.

The Metropolitan Police from Cúcuta dismantled that illegal medical establishment, in existence for 20 years, through an intelligence operation called Alfa, said local newspaper El Colombiano.

For newborns sold to couples with conception difficulties, the center dealt with legalizing birth registration in notary offices from the place where those who bought infants were registered as biological parents.

Another major source of income of the criminal center were clandestine abortions, undertaken for  the equivalent of about $ 260.

Alpha ended with the arrest of the criminal gang of five suspects in the neighborhoods of Patio Center, La Sabana de Los Patios and La Playa de Cucuta, for the crime of child trafficking, said the commander of the Metropolitan Police, Colonel Jaime Barrera.