MSF alerted to Indonesia baby trafficking ring involving 3 S'pore intermediaries in 2024

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) was reportedly alerted to the Indonesia baby trafficking ring a year before it was busted.

On Jan. 25, 2026, The Straits Times reported that the MSF confirmed that it had received an email tip-off from Alice Kaveree, the managing director of Lotus Child Adoption Agency, in April 2024.

However, due to the limited details at the time, the ring was not uncovered until July 2025 by Indonesian authorities.

The ring had arranged the sale of 25 infants since 2023, 15 of whom were sent to Singapore via Jakarta.

Email tip-off

In April 2024, Kaveree received an alarming phone call from a woman in Pontianak, Indonesia.

The woman allegedly offered to supply babies with falsified DNA and birth certificates to Kaveree's adoption agency.

The woman claimed that she was an agent and had already passed four Indonesian babies to an adoption agency in Singapore and was working with a few others.

Kaveree rejected her offer and sent an email to MSF the same day.

Responding to Mothership's queries, an MSF spokesperson confirmed that it had received Kaveree's email in 2024 and reviewed the adoption cases that matched her descriptors:

“However, the review did not uncover discrepancies or suspicions to warrant further investigation or cancellation of any applications. With further information provided through related media reports in 2025, and with more specific names from the Indonesian authorities, MSF was able to identify which cases were linked to the ongoing investigations in Indonesia.”

Indonesian authorities uncovered the ring in July 2025.

The MSF spokesperson also stated that they are working with relevant authorities and their Indonesian counterparts to review the allegations and ensure that the welfare and interests of the children involved are safeguarded.

Singapore agents purportedly involved

In a Jan. 9, 2026, press release, MSF stated that the "Indonesia National Police (INP), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and MSF have been in contact with the INP and the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs to share their investigation findings".

This was also done to "verify the circumstances surrounding the affected children who had been brought into Singapore for adoption":

"SPF has also been rendering assistance to its Indonesian counterparts for their investigations."

On Jan. 22, 2026, West Java police spokesman Senior Commissioner Hendra Rochmawan told ST that three Singapore adoption agents with the initials T.N., P.T. and E.G. were allegedly involved in the ring.

The syndicate's court trial begins in Indonesia in March 2026, and only then will the names of the parties involved be revealed.

As of January 2026, 26 Indonesian suspects have been identified.

Their roles ranged from brokers, baby caretakers, bogus mothers, to document forgers, reported ST.

Modus Operandi

Syndicate members allegedly preyed upon vulnerable expectant parents on social media, offering 20 million rupiah (S$1,500) per baby.

Hendra stated that Indonesian and Singaporean agents would work in tandem to show and describe the babies and their backgrounds to prospective Singaporean families via video call.

Prospective parents would sign a memorandum of understanding that laid out costs, terms and conditions.

Some babies were brought to Singapore by the Indonesian ring, while others were collected in Jakarta by the Singapore side, such as the adoptive parents, who had been convinced and signed an MOU, it was reported.

Singaporean adoptive parents allegedly paid more than 254 million rupiah (S$20,000) per child, stated the Director of General Criminal Investigation at Polda Jabar, Police Commissioner Surawan.

ST reported that of the 15 infants, one baby has returned to Jakarta, while the other 14 are still in Singapore.

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Top photo from Canva