The Police in Rivers State said it has arrested members of a child trafficking syndicate operating within and outside of the state.
The command stated that the gang, which comprised three women, was nabbed following a complaint lodged by a woman in Ubima Community in the Ikwerre Local government Area of the state that her child was missing.
In a statement in Port Harcourt on Friday, the State Police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, said operatives of the commissioner of police monitoring unit had swooped in on the prime suspect who incidentally had visited the complainant a few days earlier before the child went missing.
According to the statement, “Following up on a complaint by Ms. Precious Friday of Ubima Community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State that her child was missing, Operatives of the Commissioner of Police Monitoring Unit swang into action.
“They arrested one Mercy Enyindah, who incidentally was said to have visited the complainant’s home shortly before the disappearance of the child.
“The arrest of Mercy Enyindah, who has confessed to having stolen the child and two other children, along with her accomplice, one Amaka Ewuzie between the weeks of February 16th and March 2023, has led to the arrest of one Chialuka Iheanacho (f) and her husband, Chukwuma Iheanacho in Delta State.”
Iringe-Koko noted that while some of the rescued children have been reunited with their parents, “efforts are ongoing to rescue two-year-old Jasper Friday sold at Asaba, Delta State.”
“The command request all well-meaning and public-spirited persons to furnish the police with information that could lead to the rescue of the child.”
The Police also advised all residents of the state to be wary of exposing their children to visitors they do not know intimately, urging residents to raise the alarm or call emergency police numbers when in suspicion of any funny movement.
The state police spokesperson added that the suspects would be charged in court immediately.
