China’s infamous ‘Aunt Mei’ arrested after decade-long hunt for child trafficker

A shadowy go-between known as “Aunt Mei” allegedly involved in a notorious child trafficking case has been arrested, according to police in southern China.

Police in the city of Guangzhou said the woman, surnamed Xie, had been identified last year, and the case was still under investigation, state media reported on Saturday. The reports did not specify when the arrest was made.

For years, police were aware an intermediary had been involved in the trafficking case, but Aunt Mei remained at large because they were unable to identify her.

The woman allegedly brokered the sale of nine boys in Guangdong province from 2003 to 2005.

A major development in the case came in early 2016, when police arrested five suspects. Police said the lead suspect, Zhang Weiping, confessed that the children had been trafficked through an intermediary, nicknamed Aunt Mei.

In 2018, Zhang and another gang member were sentenced to death for kidnapping children, two others were sentenced to life imprisonment and a fifth person was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

South China Morning Post