Two members of a child stealing syndicate: Chinecherem Odurukwe and Chinedu Adom, have been arrested by operatives of the Anambra State Police Command.
The journey to the arrest of the syndicate members began on January 22, 2021 when at about 5pm Charity Ogochukwu Azubuike of Afam Ezialla Village in Ihiala area of Anambra State reported at Ihiala Police Station that her two-year-old son, Testimony Obiajulu Azubuike, got missing inside the market and all efforts to locate him proved abortive.
Following the report, police detectives commenced investigation.
On January 1, 2021, Odurukwe, 19, and Adom, 10, were arrested in Imo State by operatives of the Imo State Police Command in collaboration with the Imo State Police Command.
Odurukwe, who is from Ogboro Isiala village, Ihiala, according to police report, uses Adom to lure the children using biscuits inside markets, schools or other isolated places and take them to Imo State, where they sell the children for N100,000 only.
The spokesman of the Anambra State Police Command, Haruna Mohammed, said the suspects have voluntarily confessed to the crime and the rescued child is in good health condition.
Mohammed said the child has been reunited with his parents, adding that the case was under investigation and effort ongoing to apprehend other accomplices in order to bring them to justice.
The Command’s Commissioner, John B. Abang, urged parents and guardians to always monitor their children and caution them against collecting items or following strangers in order not to fall victims of child stealing syndicates.