National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Akwa Ibom State Command, says it has rescued 12 minors after bursting a child trafficking syndicate along the Calabar-Itu Road in Itu Local Government Area of the state.
NAPTIP Zonal Head in-charge of Akwa Ibom, Tina Ugwu, who stated this over the weekend in Uyo, noted that NAPTIP rescued children between the ages of three and nine from their abductors.
Following a tip-off, according to her, the raid jointly carried out by NAPTIP intelligence and operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) resulted in the arrest of three suspects.
Read also
- 38 Sexual Offenders Convicted In 10 Months – Says NAPTIP DG
- Witchcraft Allegation: NAPTIP, DIA Operatives Rescue 40 Kids from Witch Doctor
- NAPTIP Intercepts 50 Trafficked Girls
Ugwu stated that NAPTIP intelligence officials were on the trail of another six-year-old girl sold by the syndicate to a customer in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, who also resold her to another buyer in Imo State.
The Zonal Head assured that her men were on the hunt for other suspected traffickers in the ring, who seized a newborn baby from the mother and sold to buyers, adding that two suspects in her custody along with the mother were volunteering information on the crimes.
“Two of the recovered victims were sold out rightly and we are yet to recover the six-year-old girl sold to somebody in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, who later sold her to another person in Imo State.
“My men have gone to Rivers State to effect the arrest of the suspect, and my men are still on the trail of the Imo suspect including Abia because they are virtually in all states,” she added.
