Odita Sunday 
Anambra Police Bust Suspected Child-Trafficking Syndicate, Arrest Three Women
By Odita Sunday
The Anambra State Police Command has recorded another significant breakthrough in its sustained crackdown on child trafficking, arresting three women believed to be members of a child-trafficking syndicate and launching a manhunt for other suspects linked to the illegal network while commencing efforts to rescue trafficked children.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who said the arrests followed an operation by Police Operatives attached to the Awada Divisional Headquarters at a motor park in Onitsha on the evening of July 11, 2026.
According to the statement, the suspects identified as Florence Nnakuzie, 45, Hannah Ugah, 52, and Chinasa Daniel, 27, were apprehended following intelligence-led investigations into child trafficking activities within the state.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Chinasa Daniel allegedly brought two children a two-week-old baby and a four-year-old child on two separate occasions between June and December 2025 and handed them over to Hannah Ugah.
The police further disclosed that Chinasa confessed that the four-year-old child was subsequently handed over to Florence Nnakuzie and allegedly sold for Two Million Naira (₦2,000,000), while the two-week-old baby was allegedly sold to another woman who remains at large.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, described child trafficking as a grave violation of human rights and a crime against humanity. He directed the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka, for a comprehensive and discreet investigation.
The Commissioner also ordered operatives to intensify efforts to identify and apprehend every member of the trafficking syndicate and to commence coordinated operations aimed at locating, rescuing and reuniting the trafficked children with their biological families.
The Command commended members of the public whose timely and credible information led to the successful operation and urged residents to continue supporting the police with useful intelligence to combat crime across the state.
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