A man in Indonesia has been arrested by police accused of selling his baby online to finance his gambling habit.

The man, 36, who is currently being referred to as RN, traded his child for $955 (£729) on Facebook.

He was apprehended after his biological mother returned home to discover her 11-month-old child was missing.

Zain Dwi Nugroho, Tangerang police chief said: “She pressed RA to share the whereabouts of their child until he eventually confessed that he had sold the newborn.

“RA saw on Facebook that the buyers were looking to purchase a toddler so he sent them a message and arranged the purchase.”

The authorities added that RN claimed to police that he had sold the baby because of financial difficulties, but used the funds for online gambling.

Cops discovered the baby in a rented home in Tangerang, a city that merges with the capital Jakarta, along with two adults, both of whom were arrested for suspected involvement in a human trafficking network.

The offence carries a punishment of up to 15 years behind bars and a 600 million rupiah (£29,300) fine in Indonesia.

Ai Maryati, chief of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission, told domestic outlet detiknews: “There is no excuse to be treating children this way and violation of their rights has to be punished severely.”

This case is not isolated. In September a child trafficking ring was broken up by cops and eight people were arrested.

Arya Perdan, the Depok police chief, said that the kids were advertised on Facebook, being sold for between 10 million to 15 million Indonesian rupiah (£490 to £740).

According to the top officer, whose runs the police in the city south of Jakarta, the traffickers transported the infants to Bali, and re-sold them for as much as 45 million rupiah (£2,195), according to CNN Indonesia.