Sonora state police arrested Vladimir Arzate Tuesday night near Agua Prieta, across the border from Douglas, Arizona.
Arzate is a former government employee who was accused of helping to arrange an adoption for sale scheme in Sonora to clients in the United States.
According to a Homeland Security Department memo sent to Sonoran authorities that was made available to the Fronteras Desk, parents in Mexico and the U.S. would purchase newborns from a hospital in Sonora then claim to be the biological parents. One of the men implicated in the memo held a U.S. visa and would meet with potential clients. According to Sonoran prosecutors, Arzate himself was formerly a state attorney tasked with child advocacy.
According to police in Sonora, Arzate is one of eight people accused of trafficking nine newborn infants since 2012.
