The Ghana Police Service has arrested an additional suspect in an ongoing child trafficking investigation that has led to the rescue of two children, while efforts continue to locate a missing five-year-old girl.
Briefing the media, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Commissioner of Police Lydia Yaako Donkor, said the latest suspect, Lucinda Naomi Otchere, a midwife in charge of the maternity and labour ward at Trust Mother and Child Hospital in Osu, was arrested for her alleged involvement in the trafficking syndicate.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect allegedly received a missing seven-year-old girl from another suspect, Janet Larbie, and is said to have paid GH¢20,000 to facilitate the transaction.
Police further revealed that the suspect allegedly made an additional payment of GH¢35,000 to Janet Larbie and instructed her to send another five-year-old girl to a couple residing at Pokuase.
Commissioner Donkor disclosed that intelligence gathered suggests the syndicate has been involved in child trafficking activities for a considerable period.
The latest development follows an earlier operation by the Central East Regional Police Command, during which six suspects — Grace Osei Afriyie, Regina Agyeiwaa, Janet Larbie, Mary Dotsey, Yvonne Twumasi, and Seikena Umar — were arrested in connection with child trafficking and child stealing offences.
Investigations began after the Kasoa Division of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) received a complaint on April 10, 2026, regarding the disappearance of seven-year-old Kadija Karim in Kasoa in the Central Region.
Police say investigations established that the victim was allegedly lured by suspects Janet Larbie and Seikena Umar under the pretext of taking her to see her biological mother. She was later transported to an undisclosed location, kept in the custody of another woman, and later returned to Kasoa, where she was warned not to disclose the incident.
Further investigations linked the suspects to another case involving a 10-month-old infant and a five-year-old girl, who were allegedly taken from their mother under the guise of being cared for.
The 10-month-old infant was later traced to the Ashanti Region, where police say the child had been sold to two suspects for GH¢35,000 and has since been rescued and reunited with the parents. Kadija Karim has also been safely rescued.
However, the five-year-old girl believed to have been sent to Pokuase is yet to be located.
The Ghana Police Service has therefore appealed to the couple currently keeping the child to voluntarily surrender her to the nearest police station or contact investigators to assist with ongoing efforts.
Five of the suspects are currently on remand, while investigations continue to identify and arrest other accomplices linked to the syndicate.
Members of the public with information on the whereabouts of the missing child or other suspects at large have been urged to contact the nearest police station or call emergency numbers 191 or 112.
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