From ONYEKACHUKWU MELUWA, Port Harcourt
Suspected notorious human trafficking syndicate that specialises in deceiving pregnant women and selling their newborn babies has been uncovered by the Rivers State Police Command.
The suspected leader of the group, Blessing Jack, 54, was arrested alongside three accomplices in Port Harcourt after weeks of intelligence-led surveillance by operatives of C4i Intelligence Unit.
The police spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko said in a statement Monday that the syndicate’s operation came to the light after the police intercepted a phone conversation between Jack and one of her associates, Marley Oburu, where they discussed how a baby was taken from a woman under the pretext that it had died. The baby, however, was sold for N2 million.
“The syndicate led by Jack had been exploiting vulnerable expectant mothers using fake scans to convince them that their babies had died, only to sell the infants for financial gain,” Iringe-Koko stated.
Those arrested with the suspected kingpin include Chinonso Raymond (30), Chinyere Okorie (32) and Nkechi Nwankwo (50), all residents of Port Harcourt.
She added that preliminary findings revealed that Jack had previously served a three-year prison term in Calabar for a similar offence, confirming her deep involvement in child trafficking.
The police said the suspects had confessed to their roles in the crime and efforts are ongoing to arrest other fleeing members and dismantle the network.
The Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju commended the operatives for their professionalism and vowed to intensify the clampdown on human trafficking and baby-selling rackets in the state.
He urged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities, assuring that the command is committed to ensuring the safety of women and children in Rivers State.
