Police Bust Anambra Child Trafficking Syndicate (Photo)
A child trafficking syndicate has been exposed by the Anambra State Police Command.
This is as the syndicate members were arrested in a raid.
A newborn was also rescued following the arrest of four suspects in connection with child trafficking in Ifite-Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area of the state.
The spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, revealed this in a statement in Awka, the state capital, on Tuesday.
Ikenga stated that police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, acting on credible intelligence, arrested the suspects in the early hours of Tuesday.
He further noted that during the raid, the operatives rescued the one-week-old baby girl and arrested the four female suspects in connection with a case of conspiracy and child trafficking.
The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Police Command, through its operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, in the early hours of Tuesday, acting on credible intelligence, stormed a location identified as Mama Maternity situated at Ifite-Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area.
“During the raid, the operatives rescued a one-week-old baby girl and arrested four female suspects in connection with a case of conspiracy and child trafficking.
“The arrested suspects include: Elizabeth Okafor, 62 years; Esther Nweke, 48 years; Ngozi Maanfa, 45 years; and Peace Elijah Moses, 25 years, respectively.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects conspired among themselves and allegedly purchased a newborn baby girl, barely a week old, for the sum of N1.7m.
“They had reportedly paid an advance sum of N350m to the purported biological mother of the child, identified as Peace Elijah Moses, who is among the arrested persons.”
According to him, the baby girl has been safely rescued and is currently under protective care, while the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has ordered the immediate transfer of the Case to the State Criminal Investigation Department Gender Unit, Awka, for discreet investigation and necessary prosecution.
“The CP also reaffirmed the Command’s unwavering commitment to the protection of children and the ongoing fight against all forms of human trafficking in the State,” he added.