In the prosecutor's order, cited on 20 February by the Porto District Attorney's Office, the MP considers that the defendants, "who were in a loving relationship, decided to have children and sell them to couples who were interested in them".

Also according to the MP, the two accused carried out the plan between 2011 and 2017, “generating three daughters and a son, who were handed over to three couples, in exchange for the global amount of 89,000 Euros.

After birth, the accusation details, the child was registered civilly, attributing maternity to the accused and paternity to one of the elements of the acquiring couple.

"Next, the defendant and the registration father entered into an agreement to regulate the exercise of parental responsibilities, the latter remaining with the exclusive exercise of those responsibilities", he adds.

The indictment will also be subject to the scrutiny of a criminal investigating judge, since it was requested to open a case investigation, an optional procedural phase that works as a kind of pre-trial.

If the investigating judge validates the charge, the couple will be held responsible in court for the alleged practice of four crimes of trafficking in persons and four crimes of forgery of documents.

In announcing the arrest of the couple on 20 December, 2018, director Judicial Police (PJ) do Norte, Norberto Martins, indicated that the four children, aged between one and seven years, were sold to European citizens, including Portuguese.

The defendants, aged 41 and 45, living in the area of ??Porto and Vila do Conde, with a profession of pastry chef and civil builder, she was a foreign national and he was Portuguese, had a common relationship for about 10 years, according to the PJ.

According to Norberto Martins, the case was discovered following an "anonymous report" and reports that a "lady had successive pregnancies, but that no one has ever seen or met the children".