The organ trade, it seems, will spare no one and in a particularly cruel twist to the tale, it was the mother herself who auctioned her baby boy off for his organs to be used in transplants. The three-member gang of Ukrainians, including the baby's mother, sold the boy for Euro 350,000 (251,000 pounds) while he was still in the womb, not realizing that the successful bidders were undercover police officers. The sorry tale unfolded in Bari, Italy, where the gang offered the unborn baby to officers posing as drug runners. The bidding began at 50,000 Euros but the price swiftly started to rise as investigators struggled to keep pace with rival bidders in a desperate effort to secure the "purchase" and save the baby's life. After the baby was born and handed over to the undercover police for cash, the three gang members and their bodyguard-cum-driver were arrested and charged with "attempted enslavement". The police are now investigating several Italians for expressing an interest in buying the child for its organs.