The Anti Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command has arrested a suspected serial child trafficker who specialises in snatching and stealing children from their parents.
Parading the suspect before newsmen on Tuesday at the Imo State Police Commands Headquarter Owerri, the Command’s Public Relations officer, CSP Michael Abattam, said that the suspect, after snatching a child, will convey and disguise as the biological father and thereafter take the child to distant places for sale.
Abattam said that the 28-year-old suspect who hails from Amagu Amandimolu in Eziaka LGA of Enugu State, in January 2022 stole a female baby of a year and six months old from one Chinenye Oru from Abakiliki in Ebonyi State.
The Police spokesman said that the suspect deceived the lady and took her to Umuahia in Abia State in pretence of offering her a job to enable him cunningly collect her baby and sell.
He said that when Chinenye then started disturbing the suspect to return her baby, he decided to convey her to where her baby was kept.
On their way, according to the PPRO, he decieved the lady at a lonely Owerri/Umuahia road that his vehicle had developed fault and that she should alight from the car to check under the car.
When the lady obeyed the suspect by bending under the car, the suspect immediately hit her head with iron rod and ran over her with his Avalon car, leading to her to death.
When interviewed, the suspect confessed to the crime of child trafficking/murder.
He told newsmen that this is the second time he is involving himself in such crime.
He said that he immediately sold the baby at N4,000, adding that the moment he received alert of the money, he decided to do away with the lady.
Before her death, according to the suspect, he decieved her that he would raise N100,000 for her to start POS business while her baby would be handed to someone who would take care of her to avoid disturbing her business.
Similarly, the anti-kidnapping unit of Imo State Command also foiled a kidnap attempt on a Japan-based Nigerian at Umutei Mgbele in Oguta LGA of Imo State.
The Police Command spokesman said that credible intellengent received showed that members of IPOB/ESN had perfected plans to kidnap Japan-based Nigerian in his home town Mgbele in Oguta for ransom to enable them source for arms and ammunition for continuation of their attacks on unsuspecting persons and facilities within Imo State.
Abattam said that on receipt of the intelligence, operatives of the anti-kidnapping unit swiftly swung into action resulting to foiling the attempt on the person by the huldlums.
He said that the potential victim was saved from been kidnapped while the hoodlums resorted to robbing the people at the vicinity.
