The 14 people held earlier this week for alleged involvement in an illegal adoption scheme have been released.

Costa Rican police believe the detainees – including a family court judge, a lawyer and two social workers – had arranged to have mothers paid up to $10,000 to give up their babies.

“This trafficking is prohibited by law,” said Jorge Rojas, chief of Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ).

The 14 were released after a judge declined to accept a prosecutor's motion to keep them in preventive prison.

The judge and two social workers were suspended for six months, pending the results of a prosecutor's investigation.

Police said their investigation into the adoption scheme began early in June 2006 and at least three babies have been adopted through the scheme.

None of those suspected of buying babies is a foreigner, police said.