
The three suspects being paraded by the Police in Asaba
* All 3 suspects in police custody
* Victim recovered and in police custody
By John Egie
Three suspects, all women are being held in custody of the Delta State Police Command for child trafficking and baby factory.
Paraded by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Edafe Bright yesterday, the suspects confessed their involvement to the crimes.
Mother of the trafficked child simply identified as Rachael resident of Asaba said she was lured to sell her eleven days old child for N600,000 to a woman who volunteered to help assuage her sufferings after the child birth because the father of the child abandoned her and the pregnancy. She was however, supported by neighbours and people of good will before she was delivered of the baby girl.
Eleven days after delivery, she was linked to the vendor who promised to provide help for her but later took advantage of her distressed situation and asked her to sell the baby. She did and was paid N600,000.
Those who supported her while she was pregnant became concerned and expressed worry at seeing Rachael without the baby. On inquiry she confessed to the crime and was promptly arrested along with the contact who linked her to the vendor.
The vendor confessed that she sold the baby for N3. 5million and gave N570,000 to the mother after removing the N30, 000 she earlier borrowed from her from the selling price of N600,000.
The third suspect, an Ika woman who bought the child claimed she paid N4 million for the child.
The Command in a voice note released by the PPRO, SP Edafe Bright said:
“We come to realize that the business of baby factory is in the increase and we are going to fight it head-on.
” The other day we saw three women who were about transporting three different children to Abuja through Asaba international airport, thank God they were caught and arrested.
“Today, we have three suspects,mother of a child who is a week and a few days old. She gave the child to this woman and the first recipient sold the child to the third woman for the sum of N4million though she claimed it was N3.5million that she collected.
“The mystery about the whole thing is that the lady who sold for N4million or N3.5million as she claimed, gave the mother of the child not even up to N600,000.”

Meanwhile, the baby has been recovered and also in custody of the Delta State Police Command as at press time.