An alleged baby trafficking syndicate has been busted by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Medical and Dental Council after an investigation.
According to the Executive Director of EOCO, Frank Adu Poku, the buying and selling of babies has been on the radar of the crime office for a while and has so far resulted in the arrested of at least 10 suspects.
These suspects are said to be doctors, nurses, social welfare workers, traditional birth attendants and mothers who operated in various hospitals in the Greater Accra Region.
“Medical and Dental Council and Economic and Organised Crime Office have been investigating the activities of some medical practitioners and other individuals who were suspected to be engaging in an illegal act of baby harvesting and human trafficking.
“As a result of this investigation, two doctors, four nurses, two social welfare workers, a traditional birth attendant and two mothers have been arrested so far,” he stated.
Unfortunately, medical practitioners who are entrusted with the responsibility of providing assistance to mothers and their newly born babies have gone back on their Hippocratic oaths and are selling babies as a business venture.
Mr Adu Poku recounted a transaction of a month old baby boy on December 31, 2020, by a doctor with the 37 Military Hospital.
He is said to have been arrested at his private health facility, Susan Clinic located at Latebiokoshi where he allegedly sold the baby boy for an amount of GH₵30,000.
Mr Quashie was arrested with 3 nurses who worked with his facility.
In a similar case, somewhere at the Tema General Hospital, a mother was about to be separated from her newly born baby boy forever by a medical practitioner.
Her baby boy was sold for an amount of GH₵ 28,000 by a social welfare officer at the Tema General Hospital, Mr Leonard Agbley.
According to JoyNews’ Manuel Koranteng who was secretly embedded in one of the operations, he observed that Mr Agbley had already taken GH₵10,000 as a deposit for the baby from a woman who was in need of a baby.
Unbeknownst to him, the woman was an undercover officer with EOCO.
While the JoyNews team filmed from a distance, Mr Agbley went with the female undercover agent to her car to collect the money. Upon reaching the vehicle, a group of security men arrested him and recovered the baby.
Upon further interrogation, Mr Agbley revealed that he was working together with a nurse identified as Nancy as well as the Head of Social Welfare at the hospital, identified as Aunty Doris, who bolted when she heard of the arrest of her conspirators.
Thankfully, the two babies who were bought have so far been rescued by the team of investigators and returned to their mothers.
