BIZARRE adverts on Vinted for toys priced as high as £26,000 with chilling descriptions have sparked fears of child trafficking.
Police in France are probing viral screenshots of stuffed animals priced extortionately – with details such as weight, height, age, and personality traits in the listings.
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Screenshots of disturbing toy listings on Vinted have appeared on social media Credit: Vinted
Ads describe toys by their age, height, weight and personality traits Credit: Vinted
Many online fear children are secretly being sold through the peer-to-peer marketplace.
One screenshot shows a listing for a stuffed animal priced at €30,000 (£25,890), with the toy described as a nine-year-old girl.
Another stuffed bunny was reportedly going for more than €1,000 and chillingly described as three years old, female, 91cm, 13kg and “obedient girl”.
A PlayStation and controller were also pictured on a listing for €30,000 and described as ten-years-old, healthy and blonde.
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The screenshots have sparked a social media outcry, with several users calling for a thorough investigation.
French police have now launched a probe to see if a criminal network is operating on Vinted.
Posts were referred to PHAROS, a government portal investigating illegal content online, according to Europe1.
The Jattvibe has approached Vinted for comment, which has strenuously denied that these listings are actually advertising children.
French authorities have launched a probe into the chilling ads Credit: Vinted
The toys are also listed at exorbitant prices Credit: Vinted
The Lithuanian platform has said it is collaborating with police, and has “thoroughly investigated the listings being shared online and found no credible cases linking them to child trafficking activity”.
It added: “Where these listings are deliberately faked to fuel this conversation, we are swiftly removing them and taking action on accounts, including bans.”
Vinted has also condemned vigilante social media users for taking the law into their own hands.
Its statement continued: “We’ve seen an increase in abusive language directed at sellers of higher-priced items.”
Vinted has denied that the ads are related to child trafficking Credit: Getty
The listings have sparked outrage on social media Credit: Facebook / @JayFenix
The company said members have created fake listings to try to catch suspected wrongdoers or posed as buyers and threatened to report retailers to the police.
It said: “While we understand the concern behind this, this kind of behavior amounts to harassment, makes it harder for us to moderate the platform effectively, and can interfere with genuine investigations, putting members at risk.
“We do not tolerate harassment of any kind, and we take action against members who violate our rules.
“If a listing or a member’s behaviour goes against our rules, we have a number of procedures in place.
“This may include banning accounts and carrying out further investigation, in coordination with the competent authorities where appropriate.”
