Police bust child trafficking syndicate following intelligence
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Five children have been rescued from a suspected syndicate in Lagos that allegedly specialises in child stealing and trafficking, according to police.
Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Zone 2 Command in Onikan, Lagos, Adegoke Fayoade, confirmed on Monday that the children, aged between one and six, comprised four boys and a girl
He disclosed the apprehension followed intelligence report on the activities of the alleged child traffickers passed on to police on January 8.
“The intelligence revealed that the syndicate specialises in buying and selling of new born babies, toddlers, as well as children of various ages,” Fayoade said.
“The syndicate is led by three persons comprising one who supply the children, the other acting as a middle person and caregiver, while the third person is responsible for caring for the children before they are passed on to their prospective buyers.”
According to him, the rescue team, led by Ngozi Braide, a Chief Superintendent of Police, brought back the children whose identities have been messed up by traffickers.
Fayoade said the traffickers in their modus operandi always change their victims’ identities as soon as the buying and selling is completed.
“The one-year-old boy was sold when he was one week old, and the buyer resold him to another couple who currently reside in Italy, but kept the boy in the care of the syndicate’s caregiver.
“The three-year-old boy was sold in 2021 for N500, 000, while another one-year old boy was sold by his biological mother in September 2024 to an unknown individual.
“The boy was sold at the rate of N1.5 million to someone who resides within Alausa in Ikeja but was eventually recovered on January 28 in Owerri.
“The little boy was found in the care of a supposed nanny who claimed to have been employed by her younger sister, who resides with her husband in California, USA.
“The supposed nanny who was arrested in Owerri also had in her custody the three-year-old girl, whom she claimed was brought to her as a new born baby by the same sister of hers in the USA.”
The six-year-old boy was bought by the prime suspect, who claimed she bought the boy for N800,000 in Mbaise, Imo, when he was just one-week old, Fayoade added.
He said the syndicate has a strong network and hardly missed its targets, but ran out of luck in its latest criminal operation.
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