The Ahmedabad Crime Branch, in a joint operation with Banaskantha Police, has arrested Yunus, identified as the suspected kingpin and main supplier in an organised child kidnapping and trafficking racket, officials said on Wednesday.
The arrest is directly linked to the investigation into the trafficking of a 15-day-old infant rescued on January 29 and is being treated as a key development in the case.
Speaking to Media, a Crime Branch official said, “Yunus was apprehended following sustained surveillance based on human Intelligence and technical analysis. He is a resident of Danta taluka in Banaskantha.”
Officials believe he played a central role in sourcing infants and coordinating their movement through a network of intermediaries operating across different districts.
Officials further added the arrest has helped clarify the hierarchy of the racket and establish how infants were procured, transported and handed over to buyers.
The case surfaced after a joint team of the Gujarat Crime Branch and the Anti-Terrorism Squad intercepted a vehicle near the Ahmedabad airport area and rescued a newborn who was allegedly being trafficked out of Gujarat.
Three persons were arrested during that operation, while another suspect was detained for questioning.
The infant was taken for medical examination and later placed under the care of the Child Welfare Committee, police said.
During the subsequent investigation, police found that the accused had allegedly planned to transport the newborn to another state using road routes to avoid scrutiny.
Questioning of the arrested suspects and analysis of Call Detail Records pointed towards a wider network that had been active for some time and had access to buyers outside Gujarat.
Yunus’ name emerged as a key link who allegedly connected local agents with interstate contacts.
Investigators have said the background probe revealed that such rackets often target vulnerable families, including those facing economic distress, and rely on multiple layers of middlemen to conceal the identities of buyers and sellers.
Payments are allegedly routed through informal channels to avoid detection, while infants are moved within days of birth to reduce the risk of recovery.
Police are now examining whether the network linked to Yunus was involved in other similar cases reported in north Gujarat and neighbouring regions.
Authorities are also working to trace the biological parents of the rescued infant and verify whether coercion or inducement was involved.
Officials said the arrest is expected to lead to further disclosures about the scale of the operation, including the number of children trafficked and the routes used.
All accused have been booked under relevant provisions of criminal law and child protection statutes, and further arrests have not been ruled out as the investigation continues into the trafficking case.
