The Ghana Police Service has arrested an additional suspect in an ongoing child trafficking investigation that has already resulted in the rescue of two children.
Lucinda Naomi Otchere, a midwife who oversees the maternity and labor unit at Trust Mother and Child Hospital in Osu, is the most recent suspect.
Preliminary investigations, according to police, show that the suspect reportedly paid GH¢20,000 to enable the transfer of a missing seven-year-old daughter from another suspect, Janet Larbi.
Investigators further disclosed that Lucinda Naomi Otchere allegedly handed Janet Larbi an extra GH¢35,000 and told her to deliver a five-year-old girl, another victim, to a couple living in Pokuase.
According to police, the information acquired thus far indicates that the network has been engaged in child trafficking for a substantial amount of time.
Six suspects, including Grace Osei Afriyie, Regina Agyeiwaa, Janet Larbi, Mary Dotse, Yvonne Twumasi, and Sakina Omar, were apprehended for child trafficking and child theft during a previous operation by the Central East Regional Police Command.
On April 10, 2026, the Kasoa Divisional Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit received a complaint of seven-year-old Khadija Karim’s disappearance in Kasoa, prompting the start of the investigations.
According to police investigations, Janet Larbi and Sakina Omar allegedly enticed the youngster by claiming to be taking her to see her biological mother.
According to reports, she was transported to an unidentified place and held by another woman before being sent back to Kasoa with a warning not to tell anyone about what had happened.
Subsequent investigations connected the suspects to another case in which a five-year-old girl and a 10-month-old baby were allegedly stolen from their mother while being looked after.
The baby was later located in the Ashanti Region, where authorities claim it was sold for GH¢35,000 to Grace Osei Afriyie and Regina Agyeiwaa.
Since then, police have securely recovered Khadija Karim and reunited the baby with its biological parent.
The five-year-old child who is thought to have been taken to Pokuase is still unaccounted for, according to authorities.
Therefore, the Police Service has urged the couple who are reportedly holding the child at Pokuase Agya Herbal to either notify the police right away or willingly turn over the child to the closest police station.
Grace Osei Afriyie has been given court bail, but five suspects are presently on custody, according to the police. Today, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the case will resume before the Ofankor Circuit Court.
Police have asked the public to provide information that could help with investigations and said they are working to apprehend all of the trafficking syndicate’s remaining collaborators.
Source: newsthemegh.com