LUCINDA NAOMI Otchere, a midwife in charge of the Maternity and Labour Ward at Trust Mother and Child Hospital at Osu, has been arrested for her involvement in a child trafficking network.
Preliminary investigations indicate that suspect Lucinda Naomi Otchere received the missing seven-year-old girl, Kadija Karim, from suspect Janet Larbi and reportedly paid an amount of GH¢20,000 to facilitate the transaction.
Investigations further revealed that the suspect also allegedly gave an additional GH¢35,000 to Janet Larbi and instructed her to send another victim, a five-year-old girl, to a couple residing at Pokuase.
Addressing journalists at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, COP Lydia Yaako Donkor said police have gathered intelligence suggesting that the syndicate have been involved in child trafficking activities for a considerable period.
This development follows an earlier operation by the Central East Regional Police Command in which six suspects, namely Grace Osei Afriyie, Regina Agyeiwaa, Janet Larbi, Mary Dotsey, Yvonne Twumasi, and Seikena Umar, were arrested in connection with child trafficking and child stealing offences.
The initial investigations began after the Kasoa Divisional Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) received a complaint on April 10, 2026 regarding the disappearance of seven-year-old Kadija Karim at Kasoa in the Central Region.
Investigations established that the victim had allegedly been lured by suspects Janet Larbi and Seikena Umar under the pretext of taking her to see her biological mother. She was later taken to an undisclosed location and kept in the custody of another woman before being returned to Kasoa and warned not to disclose the incident.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke