The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced that on Wednesday, September 13, during a routine patrol along Aba-Owerri Road, its operatives rescued five pregnant teenage girls who were suspected victims of child trafficking in a “baby factory.” Femi Babafemi, the agency’s spokesperson, revealed this information in a statement issued on Sunday, September 17. The girls were intercepted while being relocated from their hideout in the Naze area of Owerri to the Ikenegbu area of the state capital. The rescued victims have been identified as Chioma Emmanuel (15 years old), Uma Faith (15 years old), Divine Adimonye (17 years old), Opara Gift (15 years old), and Amarachi Mbata (16 years old).
According to the NDLEA, the girls stated that they were unaware of the identities of the individuals who impregnated them. Babafemi further mentioned that the Imo state command of the Agency has been instructed to transfer the victims to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigations.
Additionally, Babafemi reported that on Wednesday, September 13, a drug dealer named Segun Odeyemi was sentenced to five years in prison by a Federal High Court in Lagos for trafficking and dealing in 3,842 kilograms of skunk. Odeyemi was apprehended on July 1st while transporting 89 jumbo bags of the illicit substance in his truck in the Eleganza area of Ajah, Lekki. He was prosecuted under suit number FHC/L/388C/2023 and appeared before Justice Akintayo Aluko.
Furthermore, NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, working with some courier companies, intercepted 2.9 kilograms of skunk bound for Dubai and 14 grams of methamphetamine concealed in bags of semovita and the soles of ladies’ high heel shoes.
