….Arrests female truck driver, six others
By Evelyn Usman
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, has busted an interstate human trafficking syndicate, arresting its suspected ringleader, a 33-year-old female truck driver of a cement company in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The suspect, identified as Hasana Jacob, it was gathered, was arrested by detectives of the Department of State Service, DSS, alongside six other suspected members of the gang, in Abuja.
They were allegedly about to sell a three-year-old girl stolen from Damaturu, Yobe State.
The agency’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, confirmed the arrest and disclosed that the 22-wheeled truck allegedly used to traffic the child had been impounded by the agency.
Speaking on the arrest, he said: “The suspect, Hasana Jacob, 33 years old, from Mangu Local Government of Plateau State, is an alternate female truck driver of a popular cement company in Lokoja, Kogi State.
“She was arrested along with the cement truck, branded in the name and logo of the company, together with six other suspected members of the gang namely Aisha Suleiman, Murtala Tanimu, Shamsu Tanimu, Adamu Jacob, Abubakar Ahmed and Ali Muhammed, in Abuja, by the operatives of the DSS, while trying to sell off their latest victim, a 3-year-old girl that was stolen from Damaturu, Yobe State.”
Investigation, according to Adekoye, revealed that Hasana Jacob commands a professional human trafficking syndicate that specialises in stealing children between the ages of one and above, and selling them to interested buyers at N600,000.
The report indicates that because Hasana is a truck driver with this popular cement company, it was very easy for her to steal children at any of the terminals across the country, evade security checks on the roads, and deliver such stolen children to her gang members at any location without being noticed.
“It is strongly suspected that the syndicate has membership across the country with different roles, while some members of the trafficking ring hunt and lure victims to the truck terminal, where they will be picked up by Hasana. Others arrange interested buyers at any of the terminals across the country, even before the arrival of the victim, thereby making it fast for the gang leader to dispose of the stolen children and collect her money,” he said.
Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, while appreciating the Director General of the DSS, in Abuja, for his sustained support to the agency which, she said, culminated in the arrest of the human trafficking syndicate, however, expressed sadness over the situation, describing it as a heinous crime against humanity.
The post NAPTIP busts human trafficking ring, foils sale of stolen 3-year-old appeared first on Vanguard News.
