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An operation to rescue 10 babies from the clutches of kidnappers is being planned by police in Hubei province.

Officers investigating human trafficking on cross-provincial trains said they suspect the children are being held in Shexian county.

A rescue plan involving 30 police officers attached to the Wuhan Railway Administration is to be launched in the next few days, they said.

It is the biggest operation since the Ministry of Public Security launched a nation-wide crackdown on the abduction of women and children on April 9.

The railway probe began on June 11 after police rescued several babies on four separate occasions aboard the K111 train from Kunming in Yunnan province to Wuchang, Hubei, between May 31 and June 9, highlighting a major human trafficking route from Yunnan to Hebei province via Hubei.

"Abductors tend to choose the railway as means of cross-provincial transport because trains are crowed with people from various backgrounds, which is the best cover," said Li Biao, an officer from the public security bureau in Guiyang, Guizhou province.

Wuhan rail officers have rescued 23 children, some as young as 15 days, and detained 18 suspects and 21 illegal adopters since May 31.

In recent years, more than 100 infants have been snatched in Yunnan by gangs looking to sell them in the central and eastern provinces of Hunan, Hubei and Shandong.

A child can cost 7,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan ($1,000-6,000) depending on gender and age, Wuhan Evening News reported.

The Ministry of Public Security said about 3,000 cases of women and child abductions are investigated each year.

However, experts estimate the number of the kidnapped each year could be as high as 20,000.

Questions:

1. How many babies Hubei province police operation is planning to rescue from the clutches of kidnappers?

2. How many police officers the rescue plan, which will be launched in the next few days, will involve?

3. How much, according to Wuhan Evening News, a child can cost?

Answers:

1. 10.

2. 30.

3. Between 7,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan ($1,000-6,000) depending on gender and age.

（英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Siberian-born Kristina Koveshnikova is a freelance journalist from New Zealand who has worked in print, television and film. After completing a BCS degree majoring in journalism, she won an Asia NZ Foundation/Pacific Media Centre award to work for China Daily website. Kristina previously did internships at ABC 7 News in Washington DC and TVNZ in New Zealand and has written for a number of publications, including The New Zealand Herald and East & Bays Courier.