BANGKOK — Interpol said Friday it has launched an investigation into what Thailand has dubbed the “Baby Factory” case: a 24-year-old Japanese businessman who has 16 surrogate babies and an alleged desire to father hundreds more.
Police raided a Bangkok condominium this month and found nine babies and nine nannies living in a few unfurnished rooms filled with baby bottles, bouncy chairs, play pens and diapers. They have since identified Mitsutoki Shigeta as the father of those babies — and seven others.
Thailand’s Interpol director, police Maj. Gen. Apichart Suribunya, said that regional Interpol offices in Japan, Cambodia, Hong Kong and India have been asked to probe Shigeta’s background, beginning last week.
“We are looking into two motives. One is human trafficking and the other is exploitation of children,” said Thai police Lt. Gen. Kokiat Wongvorachart, Thailand’s lead investigator in the case.
He said Shigeta hired 11 Thai surrogate mothers to carry his children, including four sets of twins.
