The Abia State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old man for allegedly selling his 6-month old son for N350,000 to enable him to get a travelling document to Greece.
The suspect, Onyekachi Ekwelum, was among seven suspected child traffickers arrested in Abia State in the last one month.
Ekwelum reportedly sold the baby without the consent of his wife. However, the bubble burst when his 20-year-old spouse, Ozioma, could not find their son and immediately reported the matter to the police.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Usman Tilli, who disclosed this to newsmen in Umuahia on Monday, said the police mounted a man hunt that led to the rescue of the child and the arrest of the suspects.
Tilli revealed that Ekwelum alongside six other child traffickers, were apprehended between March 4 and April 2.
He expressed displeasure over the circumstances under which the suspects committed the crime.
The commissioner also disclosed that on March 16 a man from Amaoji in Isiala-Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia reported that his wife connived with a doctor to sell their baby.
He said that the new born baby boy was sold for N300,000 by the doctor who allegedly delivered it.
Tilli said that the doctor had been charged to court while three other pregnant women he harbored in his baby factory were used as prosecution witnesses.
The Commissioner said the command would stop at nothing to ensure that the state was rid of child- traffickers.