Sale of babies: EOCO arrests at least 10 suspects

An alleged baby trafficking union has been arrested by the Bureau of Economic and Organized Crime (EOCO) and the Medical and Dental Council after an investigation.

According to EOCO Executive Director Frank Adu Poku, buying and selling babies has been on the crime bureau’s radar for some time and has so far resulted in the arrest of at least 10 suspects .

These suspects are said to be doctors, nurses, social workers, traditional birth attendants and mothers operating in various hospitals in the Greater Accra region.

“The Medical and Dental Council and the Bureau of Economic and Organized Crime have investigated the activities of some doctors and others suspected of engaging in an illegal act of taking babies and trafficking in human beings.

“As a result of this investigation, two doctors, four nurses, two social workers, a traditional birth attendant and two mothers have been arrested so far,” he said.

Unfortunately, doctors who are given the responsibility of providing assistance to mothers and their newborns have gone back on their Hippocratic oaths and are selling babies like a business enterprise.

Mr. Adu Poku recounted a transaction of a one month old baby boy on December 31, 2020 by a doctor at 37 Military Hospital.

He was reportedly arrested at his private health facility, the Susan Clinic located in Latebiokoshi, where he allegedly sold the little boy for GH 30,000.

Mr. Quashie was arrested along with 3 nurses who worked at his facility.

In a similar case, somewhere in Tema General Hospital, a mother was about to be separated from her newborn baby forever by a doctor.

Her baby boy was sold for GH 28,000 by a social welfare officer at Tema General Hospital, Mr. Leonard Ableh.

According to Manuel Koranteng of JoyNews, who was secretly involved in one of the operations, he observed that Mr. Ableh had already taken 10,000 GH as as security for the baby of a woman who needed a baby.

Unbeknownst to him, the woman was an undercover agent with EOCO.

While the JoyNews crew was filming remotely, Mr. Ableh went with the undercover officer in his car to collect the money. Upon reaching the vehicle, a group of security officers stopped him and retrieved the baby.

After further questioning, Mr Agbey revealed he was working with a nurse identified as Nancy as well as the hospital’s social welfare chief, identified as Aunty Doris, who fled when she learned of the arrest of his conspirators.

Fortunately, the two babies that were purchased have so far been rescued by the investigative team and returned to their mothers.