[Ryan57]

Chilean police have arrested four alleged cult members who they accuse of burning a baby alive in a ritual.

The leader of the sect reportedly believed that the end of the world was near and that the three-day-old child was the antichrist.

The baby was taken to a hill in the town of Colliguay near the port of Valparaiso on November 21, 2012, and was thrown into a bonfire.

The baby's mother, 25-year-old Natalia Guerra, had allegedly approved the sacrifice and was among those arrested.

"The baby was naked. They strapped tape around her mouth to keep her from screaming," said Miguel Ampuero, of the Police Investigative Unit.

"Then they placed her on a board. After calling on the spirits they threw her on the bonfire alive."

Authorities said the 12-member sect was formed in 2005 and was led by Ramon Gustavo Castillo Gaete, 36, who remains at large.

Mr Ampuero said: "Everyone in this sect was a professional. We have someone who was a veterinarian and who worked as a flight attendant, we have a film maker, a draftsman. Everyone has a university degree."

Police said Castillo Gaete, the ringleader, was last seen travelling to Peru to buy ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant that he used to control the members of the cult.

Absolutely disgusting.