Authorities are warning that private social media groups have become the primary marketplace for baby-selling syndicates, with 25 infants rescued since 2024.

Police Lt. Col. Ayn Natuel of the Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) said Friday that the youngest victim rescued was only 2 months old.

While most previous arrests involved biological mothers, Natuel said a recent operation in Laguna led to the arrest of a “locator” or middleman attempting to sell an infant for P35,000.

“The anonymity of the dark web is a myth,” Natuel said, adding that private groups “are not as private as you think.”

All cases documented by the unit are currently in court, and police have secured one conviction so far. Natuel said the WCPC proactively hunts for coordinators and expects perpetrators to migrate to different digital platforms in the coming months to evade detection.

Meantime, Undersecretary Angelo Tapales of the Council for the Welfare of Children described the trend as part of a larger “ecosystem of abuse.” He noted that mothers who sell their children are often victims themselves, having survived sexual abuse or corporal punishment.