The Policía Nacional has arrested three suspects in Málaga uncovered a suspected illegally arranged handover of a six-month-old girl between two couples. According to police, the child’s biological parents and a 38-year-old suspected broker were arrested in Cartagena . The investigation is being led by the Minors’ Unit of the UFAM in Málaga and the UDEV of the Comisaría de Cartagena.
The starting point, according to the authorities, was that a couple in Málaga had taken the baby in and later contacted social services in the district of Campanillas . The authorities then initiated a protection procedure and contacted the child protection service of the Junta de Andalucía , which arranged temporary care. About a month after the handover, the biological parents reported an alleged abduction in Cartagena. After checks, investigators determined that the report was false.
According to the information available so far, the authorities believe the handover took place outside the adoption and protection procedures prescribed by law. The three people arrested are suspected—subject to legal classification—of offences including offences against family relations and making a false report of a crime. Specific charges and possible judicial measures had not been disclosed by the time of publication. The couple who took in the child in Málaga are being questioned; police gave no details of any arrests in connection with this.
The Policía Nacional stresses that the welfare of the minor is paramount. To protect the child’s privacy, neither the child’s current whereabouts nor medical details have been disclosed. The child protection service of the Junta de Andalucía is responsible for further decisions about protection and future care arrangements.
Legal background: In Spain, adoptions and long-term foster placements are permitted only through public authorities, courts and child welfare services. Private or informal handovers—especially those bypassing suitability checks and without judicial oversight—may be prosecuted as offences against family relations. The case now reported is at the investigation stage; claims about motives, possible payments or ongoing brokering activity are unsubstantiated and are clearly distinguished by the editorial team from facts officially reported by the authorities.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).