Police operatives in Ebonyi have rescued 32 trafficked persons in the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba, confirmed the development when he paraded two suspects arrested by the police for allegedly trafficking the victims at the headquarters of the state police command in Abakaliki on Friday
The suspects were – Nwagboduhu Ekene (20) and Nwaoko Godwin (24).
He said the victims who were trafficked from Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Rivers and five other states for forced labour and sexual exploitation were kept in a two-room apartment at Okposi Umuaghara community, Ezza North Local Government Area of the state.
The victims, according to the CP, were between the ages of 16 and 17 years.
Garba said the command moved into action after one Mrs Nwankwo Ijioma, reported that her daughter, Miss Nwankwo Childera, was missing.
He said: “In the course of the investigation, a company’s advertisement sheet captioned ‘NEO life’ containing a phone number was found in the daughter’s room. The owner of the phone, who was later identified as Christian Nwankwo, ‘M’, age 19 years, was traced and arrested.
“The children are trafficked from different parts of the country and are being used for forced labour and sexual exploitation, in the name of networking/hawking NEO life company products.
“The suspects rented a two-room apartment at Diamond Villa lodge adjacent to Ebonyi State University Medical Department, PRESCO campus, as a place of abode for the victims.”
