The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced that its operatives, during a patrol along Aba-Owerri Road, rescued five pregnant teenage girls believed to be victims of child trafficking at a suspected “baby factory.”
According to the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, who issued a statement on Sunday, September 17, the victims were apprehended while they were being moved from their hideout in the Naze area of Owerri to the Ikenegbu area of the state capital.
The rescued girls, aged between 15 and 17, were identified as Chioma Emmanuel, 15; Uma Faith, 15; Divine Adimonye, 17; Opara Gift, 15; and Amarachi Mbata, 16.
The girls reportedly claimed that they did not know the men who impregnated them, according to the NDLEA.
The NDLEA has directed the Imo state command to hand over the victims to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigations.
In addition to the rescue operation, the NDLEA also reported a successful conviction of a drug dealer, Segun Odeyemi, who was sentenced to five years in prison for trafficking and dealing in 3,842 kilograms of skunk. Odeyemi was arrested while transporting 89 jumbo bags of the illicit substance in his truck in July.
Furthermore, NDLEA operatives thwarted fresh attempts to export methamphetamine and skunk through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja and courier companies in Lagos. The drugs were concealed in various items, including crayfish mixed with dry bitter leaf and bags of semovita and ladies’ high heel shoes.
The agency continues to work diligently to combat drug trafficking and related crimes in the region.
