Police in Haiti have detained 10 U.S. charity workers on suspicion of child trafficking, after they tried to cross into the Dominican Republic with more than 30 children who did not have proper paperwork.

Haiti's Social Affairs Minister Yves Christallin called the operation an abduction and said the children need authorization from the ministry to leave the country.

The detainees, five men and five women who work with a U.S.-based charity called New Life Children's Refuge, say they were attempting to move the children to an orphans' facility in the Dominican Republic

The church sponsoring the charity has posted a note on its Web site saying they were falsely arrested and the church is working to have them cleared.

Haitian authorities have expressed fear that human traffickers will take advantage of the post-earthquake chaos by preying on orphaned children. 

Authorities also say they need to ensure that children with living relatives are reconnected with their families.

Image by United Nations Development Programme