The Peshtera regional court gave a seven-year prison sentence to two people behind a human trafficking ring.

The two organised the travel of pregnant women to France, Novinar newspaper reported.

According to law the maximum sentence for such crime is eight years. The two will also have to pay a 7 000 leva fine each.

In 2003 the two convinced two pregnant women to give birth in Paris. After the birth, the women signed some documents, unaware of the content. In this manner the children were taken away and sold for a price varying between 5 000 and 10 000 euro.

The National Service for Combating Organised Crime (NSCOC) uncovered another trafficking ring in February. Its organisers took pregnant women to Greece, where the children were sold to Greek families. Five men from Sliven and the Bourgas region were detained. The ring has been functioning since 2004 and the last case occurred in January 2006.

Bulgarian children are sold for different prices in various countries. A Greek family is willing to pay up to 15 000 euro. In France ring organisers manage to obtain between 6000 and 7000 euro. Most women willing to sell their children are of Roma origin. They receive a tenth of the total amount.