The anti-human trafficking unit of the Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested Evelyn Jemima Alangea 41, a probation officer at the Department of Social Welfare and Samuel Obeng Afriyie, 58, a Justice Administration Officer with the same department.
Suspects were arrested for their involvement in the stealing of a one-day old female child from her biological mother at a maternity home in Kumasi.
The theft happened on the 11th of January, 2018. The baby was handed her over to a couple, who had gone through the Social Welfare’s Department adoption process.
Police Investigations revealed that the complainant who is unemployed and a native of Lawra in the Upper West region got pregnant in 2017 but was neglected by her boyfriend.
During the ninth month of her pregnancy, she started soliciting for help to raise funds to pay her hospital bill and also cater for her house accommodation.
On 8th January, 2018, she was directed to the department of Social Welfare for help where she met Alangea and Afriyie at the probation office and narrated her story to them. After the narration, both suspects offered to help and asked the complainant to call when she was in labour, which she did.
On 11th January, 2018 at 8:55am, the complainant delivered and was informed of the gender of the baby as a female by a midwife, Madam Grace Osei Afriyie.
The baby was taken to a nearby room and handed over to suspect Evelyn Jemima Alangea.
Few minutes later Alangea approached the complainant in the labour ward and told her that her newly born baby has some rashes around her neck and has been taken to a hospital for treatment.
Alangea hurriedly sent the baby who was not sick, has no rashes around her neck to Kumasi children’s home, and admitted her without the knowledge of her mother.
She later returned to the labour ward and informed the mother of the baby that the baby had passed on when she was still alive.
The body of the baby was not shown to complainant neither did she know how she was buried.
At 11:00am on the same day, Alnagea took the complainant to her house at Tewobaabi at Kenyasi in the Ashanti region to stay with her in order to cover her diabolic deeds.
Mother of the stolen baby spent two months with Evelyn and later left.
On 3rd February, 2018, Alangea gave the baby to a couple couple who had applied for adoption of a child through the department of Social Welfare.
Alangea charged the couple an amount of Chc16, 500 for the adoption process. Unknown to the couple, the baby was a stolen one.
The amount being proceeds from the sale of the stolen baby was shared between Alangea and Samuel Obeng Afriyie.
The mother who suspected a foul play informed one of her friends who advised her to lodge a complaint with the police.
On 6th April, 2018, Alangea was arrested together with Afriyie.
Both have been granted police enquiry bail.
Meanwhile, both suspects have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime to wit Child stealing and have been processed for court.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Isaac Bediako
