Drugged beggar babies for rent in Indonesia [View all]

[WhiteTara]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/drugged-beggar-babies-rent-indonesia-055535290.html?nhp=1

Jakarta (AFP) - At rush hour every weekday, women with babies slung across their arms line the traffic-choked streets of the Indonesian capital, flagging down drivers looking to game Jakarta's carpooling laws by hiring a few extra passengers.

But revelations some of the infants used in this years-old streetside business have been rented out by criminal syndicates, and even drugged to keep them quiet, has outraged Jakartans and prompted a crackdown by city authorities.

Motorists know at rush hour they need at least two passengers to enter main roads by law, so rely on "jockeys": These are often poor young women with a child, who act as passengers-for-hire in exchange for a small fee.

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The allegations of drugging and exploitation rackets -- conducted right under the noses of unsuspecting motorists -- has surprised and outraged Jakartans, though police admit they've known about it for some time but struggled to prosecute cases.