A secret location at Bodhiraja Mawatha in Maligawatte where a business of auctoning infants to childless parents that had been carried out for quite some time was detected yesterday (8) by the Colombo Central Intelligence Bureau. A mother of three children and eight other women suspects along with a 10 day old infant girl were also taken into custody

When the Police party raided the place the 10 day old infant was on the verge being auctioned for a sum of Rs 25,000, Police said..

"It was an auction. The highest bidder gets the infant, according to our preliminary investigations. That is how there had been several other other women in the place and they were unknown to each other,"a senior Police source said.

The mother of the infant had served in the Middle East and had returned three months ago to the country and had delivered the infant 10 days ago.The mother of the child is from Matugama. And she intended to go abroad again.

There had been brokers involved in fetching buyers to the woman who ran the auction house at Maligawatte, Police investigations revealed.

Colombo Central Intelligence Bureau Chief Senior Superintendent T.S.Raji is heading investigations assisted by Maradana OIC CI Amal Sirimanne, IP Nishantha Sanjiva, Jayawardena, PS 17644, Dissanayake., PS 176124 Wahid, PC 17361, Gunawardena and PC 54578 Kulasekera.