By Eric Appah Marfo
Accra, May 12, GNA – The Ghana Police Service has arrested an additional suspect in an ongoing child trafficking investigation that has led to the rescue of two children.
The suspect, identified as Lucinda Naomi Otchere, a midwife in charge of the Maternity and Labour Ward at Trust Mother and Child Hospital at Osu, was arrested for her alleged involvement in the trafficking network.
Commissioner of Police Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), disclosed this at a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday.
She said preliminary investigations indicated that Lucinda allegedly received a missing seven-year-old girl from suspect Janet Larbi and reportedly paid GH¢20,000 to facilitate the transaction.
The Police said the suspect allegedly gave an additional GH¢35,000 to Janet and instructed her to send another victim, a five-year-old girl, to a couple residing at Pokuase.
According to the Police, intelligence gathered so far suggested that the syndicate had been involved in child trafficking activities for a considerable period.
The arrest follows an earlier operation by the Central East Regional Police Command, which led to the arrest of six suspects – Grace Osei Afriyie, Regina Agyeiwaa, Janet Larbi, Mary Dotsey, Yvonne Twumasi and Seikena Umar – in connection with child trafficking and child stealing offences.
The investigations began after the Kasoa Divisional Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) received a complaint on April 10, 2026, regarding the disappearance of seven-year-old Kadija Karim at Kasoa in the Central Region.
Police investigations established that the victim had allegedly been lured by suspects Janet Larbi and Seikena Umar under the pretext of taking her to see her biological mother.
She was subsequently taken to an undisclosed location and kept in the custody of another woman before being returned to Kasoa and warned not to disclose the incident.
Further investigations linked the suspects to another child stealing case involving a 10-month-old infant and a five-year-old girl, who were allegedly taken from their mother under the pretext of caring for them.
The Police said the 10-month-old infant was later traced to the Ashanti Region, where the child had allegedly been sold to suspects Grace Osei Afriyie and Regina Agyeiwaa for GH¢35,000.
Police investigations led to the rescue and reunification of the infant with the parents, while Kadija Karim was also rescued safely.
However, the five-year-old girl believed to have been sent to Pokuase is yet to be rescued.
The Ghana Police Service appealed to the couple allegedly holding the child at Pokuase, near Agya Herbal, to voluntarily hand over the child to the nearest Police Station or contact the Police to assist ongoing investigations.
The Police said five suspects had been remanded into custody, while Grace Osei Afriyie had been granted court bail.
The case has been adjourned to Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at the Ofaakor Circuit Court.
The Police said efforts were underway to apprehend all remaining accomplices connected to the syndicate.
The Police appealed to members of the public with information on suspects still at large to contact the nearest Police Station or call the emergency numbers 191 or 112, assuring that all information received would be treated with strict confidentiality.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Eric Appah Marfo
[email protected]