Chinese couples stopped at Almaty airport for attempting to take infants out of Kazakhstan

Tengrinews.kz – Chinese citizens were detained at Almaty International Airport after attempting to leave Kazakhstan with infants born to surrogate mothers.

According to the source, on 11 November two Chinese couples were stopped by airport authorities while traveling with newborns carried by surrogate mothers. Although they had a full set of documents for the children, they were not allowed to depart the country.

Almaty Police Department confirmed the incident in response to an official inquiry from the newsroom.

“An investigation has been launched under Part 1 of Article 135 of the Criminal Code (‘Trafficking in minors’). The case is currently under investigation,” police said.

From January to September this year, Kazakhstan registered 19 criminal cases related to child trafficking, all involving illegal adoption schemes involving newborns.