MEXICO CITY—Mexican police detained three doctors, a nurse, and a receptionist suspected of stealing at least two newborn babies from a private hospital, a Mexico City official said Wednesday.

"They told the mothers that the babies had died," said Luis Genaro Vasquez, from the capital's attorney general's office.

The medical workers were accused of child trafficking, using fake documents, and organized crime, Vasquez said.

Authorities temporarily closed the hospital, and were investigating further reports of stolen babies, he added.

They recovered two babies who had been bought and registered as the daughters of a couple and a single woman, who were also detained.

The buyers said they had been deceived and had paid around $1,000 each for the babies and their documents.