Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO)
Two weeks after the arrest of 11 persons involved in alleged ‘baby harvesting’ activities, three people have petitioned the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to look into circumstances that led to the missing of their babies.
The claimants filed different petitions to the EOCO from the Susan Clinic at Laterbiokoshie, Accra, where one of the medical doctors of the alleged syndicate operated from, whilst the other facilities where the babies were alleged to have vanished were mentioned as Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, aka Ridge Hospital.
The mothers, according EOCO officials, claimed they were just told their babies had died by doctors responsible for their deliveries, but were never showed the dead bodies of the babies.
Per the account, two complainants said their babies were males, while the other claimed her baby was female.
They all claimed that the babies were well but within a few hours in each case, they were respectively told the babies had died even though, they were all not allowed to see the ‘bodies.’
The Executive Director in charge of EOCO, COP (RDT) Frank Adu Poku, when contacted, confirmed the petitions and said EOCO had commenced investigations into all the complaints.
In the case of the Susan Clinic, the EOCO Boss said the petitioner claimed she delivered the baby girl at the clinic in 2016.
According to her, the baby was very well when it was delivered, and was taken from the labour ward to the main ward.
“She alleged that an hour later, she was told by the hospital authorities that the baby had died,” the EOCO Boss said, adding “she claims her husband later came to request for the dead body for burial but they were refused and were only told the body had already been buried.”
In the case of the second petitioner, the EOCO Boss said that she was a head porter, known in local parlance as Kayayie, and she also delivered at Korle- Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra on May 6, 2018.
“Upon delivering, she said, she was charged GH¢250 and since she did not have the money, she left the baby to the house to inform her family,” the EOCO Boss quoted the petitioner as saying.
He said the petitioner said when she went back to the hospital after three days to pay the money, she was told the baby had died but was never given the body or shown where it was buried.
COP (Rtd) Adu-Poku continued that the third petitioner claimed the baby was abandoned by its mother at a cemetery at Ogbojo in Accra on December 12, 2020.
The baby was then handed over to officials of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit for investigations.
The Executive Director of EOCO said since the baby was seven months and looked premature, it was sent to Ridge Hospital for further treatment and proper care.
“Days, later, the petitioner claimed hospital authorities claimed the child had died even though they believe the story could not be true.”
The EOCO Boss said being an investigative body with functions of investigating crimes including human trafficking; they would do everything possible to unravel the circumstances relating to the respective cases.
Initial Arrests
On January 20, the EOCO and the MDC announced at a joint news conference that they had been able to smash a baby harvesting syndicate, and said two medical doctors, four nurses and four others were being investigated for the illegal activity.
They identified the doctors as Dr. Hope Mensah Quarshie of the 37 Military Hospital in Accra and Dr. Noah Kofi Lartey of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge, Accra.
The nurses were also identified as Sylvia Awuseh, John Adorey Effie, Angela Ametepe and Stella Deli.
Similarly, Leonard Agbley and Doris Badu, both social workers, as well as Dede Gifty Anikpi, a traditional birth attendant from Bethlehem Maternity at Santoe, a suburb of Kpone Katamanso, were arrested.
A lady called Nancy Obaa Yaa, believed to be a mother of one of the babies, was also in trouble and was also picked up late last year.
Two of the babies, a four-month-old and another under one month, whose ‘harvesting’ triggered the EOCO and MDC investigation, are currently safe in the custody of the authorities.
Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE had indicated that one of the petitioner claimed her child got missing at Susan Clinic, operated by Dr. Quarshie, one of the arrested doctors in the “baby harvesting saga.”
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey