NAPTIP nabs notorious human trafficker, rescues victims in Edo

Operatives of the Na­tional Agency for the Prohibition of Traf­ficking in Persons (NAP­TIP) from the Benin Zonal Command have finally ar­rested a 33-year-old man, Monday Ugbo, for human trafficking.

Three victims were also rescued from his residence located at Osayande Street, Upper Sakponba Road, Be­nin City, Edo State.

Operatives of the agency had been on his trail for sev­eral weeks, following regular mention of his name in a number of human traffick­ing cases being handled by the Zonal Command.

Acting on intelligence re­ports that he was harbouring some girls in his house pre­paratory to their movement abroad, operatives swooped on the notorious trafficker in the early hours of Friday and caught him in the process of receiving a registration fee of N50,000 he had demanded from a prospective victim.

Preliminary investiga­tions revealed that he was also preparing to take the three girls to a river that morning for oath taking before they embark on the journey to Europe.

NAPTIP said Ugbo, who claimed to be a bricklayer, has been in the business of human trafficking for a long time and operates with an­other woman currently at large.

Reacting, NAPTIP Direc­tor-General, Barrister Julie Okah-Donli, commended the operatives for appre­hending the suspect. - The Authority