<p>Thirty-three pregnant Cambodian women who were carrying babies on behalf of Chinese clients have been discovered during a raid on an illegal commercial surrogacy operation, police said on Saturday.</p>.<p>Five people, including a Chinese manager, were arrested following raids at two apartments in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, police said.</p>.<p>Cambodia had been a popular international destination for infertile couples looking to have babies through commercial surrogacy even though it is was made illegal in 2016.</p>.<p>Keo Thea, director of Phnom Penh's anti-trafficking office, told Reuters on Saturday that five people, including four Cambodian women and the male Chinese manager, had been detained during a police raid on Thursday.</p>.<p>"Our authorities have charged them with human trafficking and being intermediaries in surrogacy," Keo Thea said.</p>.<p>The pregnant women would not face charges at the moment, he said.</p>.<p>"They are carrying babies for Chinese nationals," he said, adding that each woman was promised $10,000 for the service.</p>.<p>Once a woman becomes pregnant she receives $500. When the baby is delivered the terms of her agreement are that she will be paid $300 a month until the full $10,000 is paid off, Keo Thea said.</p>.<p>Keo Thea said the surrogacy operation had already provided about 20 babies to clients in China.</p>.<p>"Some were born in China and some were born in Cambodia," Keo Thea said.</p>.<p>Clinics based in Asia are increasingly eyeing China, where health officials estimate that 90 million couples have become eligible to have a second child after a decades-old one-child policy was relaxed in 2015.</p>.<p>There are no official estimates of the number of Chinese babies delivered by surrogates, but media say it exceeds 10,000 every year.</p>.<p>Thailand and India have blocked foreigners from using commercial surrogacy services following a series of cases that raised concern about exploitation.</p>.<p>Thailand banned the practice in 2015 and subsequently, several Thai clinics moved across the border into Cambodia until commercial surrogacy was banned there the following year.</p>
<p>Thirty-three pregnant Cambodian women who were carrying babies on behalf of Chinese clients have been discovered during a raid on an illegal commercial surrogacy operation, police said on Saturday.</p>.<p>Five people, including a Chinese manager, were arrested following raids at two apartments in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, police said.</p>.<p>Cambodia had been a popular international destination for infertile couples looking to have babies through commercial surrogacy even though it is was made illegal in 2016.</p>.<p>Keo Thea, director of Phnom Penh's anti-trafficking office, told Reuters on Saturday that five people, including four Cambodian women and the male Chinese manager, had been detained during a police raid on Thursday.</p>.<p>"Our authorities have charged them with human trafficking and being intermediaries in surrogacy," Keo Thea said.</p>.<p>The pregnant women would not face charges at the moment, he said.</p>.<p>"They are carrying babies for Chinese nationals," he said, adding that each woman was promised $10,000 for the service.</p>.<p>Once a woman becomes pregnant she receives $500. When the baby is delivered the terms of her agreement are that she will be paid $300 a month until the full $10,000 is paid off, Keo Thea said.</p>.<p>Keo Thea said the surrogacy operation had already provided about 20 babies to clients in China.</p>.<p>"Some were born in China and some were born in Cambodia," Keo Thea said.</p>.<p>Clinics based in Asia are increasingly eyeing China, where health officials estimate that 90 million couples have become eligible to have a second child after a decades-old one-child policy was relaxed in 2015.</p>.<p>There are no official estimates of the number of Chinese babies delivered by surrogates, but media say it exceeds 10,000 every year.</p>.<p>Thailand and India have blocked foreigners from using commercial surrogacy services following a series of cases that raised concern about exploitation.</p>.<p>Thailand banned the practice in 2015 and subsequently, several Thai clinics moved across the border into Cambodia until commercial surrogacy was banned there the following year.</p>