China has put 23 people on trial on suspicion of involvement in the sale of nearly 50 babies.
State media on Friday described it as one of the country's biggest-ever child trafficking cases.
Prosecutors accused ring members of buying baby boys for up to $3300. dollars in the southwest province of Yunnan and selling them for double that amount in the north of the country, the China Daily reported.
They allegedly also bought baby girls for less that that and sold them for about $ 3,000dollars. There was a two day trial in the city of Wuhan which concluded with no verdict delivered.
Most of them didn't realize they were breaking the law, said a court official.Under Chinese law, child traffickers face punishment ranging from five years in jail to the death penalty.
Prosecutors said the two ringleaders - a brother and sister pair - had trafficked 49 babies between March 2005 and July 2009 with the help of friends and relatives. Police shut down the ring in mid - 2009.
Chinese babies, especially boys, born to people in poor and remote areas are sometimes sold to more wealthy families. Many sociologists blame the nations "one child" family planning policy for fuelling the crime.
Under the policy, aimed at controlling the world's largest population of 1.3 billion, people who live in urban areas are generally allowed one child, while rural families can have two if the first is a girl.
This has put a premium on baby boys, while baby girls are often sold as couples try for a male heir.
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