Eleven Myanmar nationals were discovered in a human trafficking investigation in Inner Mongolia by Chinese authorities, according to Xinhua.
The victims, all women or children, were brought to China with false promises of employment, but subsequently enslaved to traffickers to be sold as brides to rural Chinese men, according to police accusations.
They would have been sold for as much as $8,000 per person, more than the average yearly salary in China.
The trafficking ring was discovered when one woman contacted a police officer while traveling on a train in China, and her abductor attempted to drag her away, Reuters news agency reported. The victims were returned to Myanmar after a three-month investigation, which led to the arrest of another 30 subjects.
China is a major destination for human trafficking of women, caused by gender imbalances resulting from female infanticide, leading to an estimated 118 men for every 100 women in the youngest generation.
Currently, there are no reliable estimates regarding the scale of human trafficking between Myanmar and China.
UN reports indicate a growing trend of women from Shan State being sent to China to enter into forced marriages.
Last year, Chinese police announced an investigation into Chinese men traveling to Southeast Asia to buy brides.
