PESHAWAR: A former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police officer's wife suspected of involvement in child trafficking was arrested on Monday in the Gulbahar area of the city, said police.

Superintendent Police (SP) Cantt Kashif Zulfiqar confirmed the former DSP's wife is in custody in relation to a child trafficking case. "We arrested an ex-DSP's wife four days ago in a child trafficking case and she is currently being interrogated."

The woman ran a maternity home in Gulbahar.

SP Zulfiqar said the arrest was not immediately disclosed due to the former police officer's influence. "Her husband used his influence to avoid her arrest, but failed to save her."

"A gang of 16 to 18 people are involved in the child trafficking ring and we have arrested 10 accused," said SP Zulfiqar, adding that the former police officer's wife was arrested thanks to information provided by one of the 10 arrested.

"One lady doctor has escaped to London, but we will manage to arrest her," he assured.

The revelation of the arrest marks a high-profile turn in the child trafficking case.

Last Friday, a kidnapping gang involved in the abduction of newborn babies from maternity homes and hospitals in Peshawar was busted by police.

Police on Monday also arrested a couple suspected of selling their newborn child to the ring of alleged abductors nabbed in Peshawar last week.

Imtiaz and his wife were apprehended from Nowshera's Pabbi area on charges of child trafficking when police raided their house after receiving a lead from Wajiha, a prime suspect in the kidnapping ring arrested last week.