QUETTA, Sept 16: Police on Saturday said that 49 kidnapped and missing children had been recovered during the last nine months and a gang involved in kidnapping for ransom cases had been busted.

Addressing a press conference, DIG (Investigation) Amjad Javed Salimi said that since January last 52 children, including Afghans and Iranians, had been reported missing or kidnapped in Quetta.

Most of the children had left their homes and went to some other areas of the country, he said, adding that they were traced out and had been handed over to their parents.

The official said that police had also arrested some members of a gang involved in kidnapping for ransom cases and soon others would be put behind bars. The police had recovered five of the seven kidnapped children, he added.