The Nation - News from Dec. 18, 1988

Police in Texas are seeking more indictments and arrests after smashing a baby-selling ring that apparently exchanged small amounts of cocaine for the babies of poor, female drug addicts, officials said. Five people remained in jail in South Texas in Corpus Christi and Beeville on charges of baby-selling and kidnaping. A Nueces County grand jury indicted Rhonda Romero, 22, of Corpus Christi on charges that she sold her two children, ages 1 and 2, for less than an ounce of cocaine apiece. Romero allegedly traded her children for cocaine to Tomas Casas, 40, and Jose Luis Gomez, 41, both of Skidmore. Casas and Gomez were indicted on charges of purchasing a child. Also arrested were Jose Luis Martinez, 70, and his daughter, Mercedes Martinez Gomez, 34, the wife of Casas, on kidnaping charges. A drug informant first tipped authorities to a possible swap earlier this year.