BY FOLASHADE KEHINDE
OFFICIALS of Air Peace Airline have foiled an attempt to traffic two babies out of Lagos.
The attempt was reportedly made by a man and woman at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Terminal 2, Lagos.
Spokesperson for Air Peace, Stanley Olisa, disclosed that the airline’s Passenger Service Executives and Security Personnel smelt a rat when the two adults, who were travelling to Asaba, were being checked in at the counter.
The suspects gave conflicting information to officials at every point, which further made the situation suspect, he said.
Olisa stated, “On June 7, 2021, at MMA2, around 12:00 hours, a man and a woman, carrying two babies, approached our counter for check-in. Our Passenger Service Executive, being suspicious of the duo’s behaviour, questioned them about the babies. They said the babies belonged to them and were traveling to Asaba.
“As the suspicion intensified, the two adults, who hinted that the babies were 3 months old each, were further questioned by another counter attendant and a security personnel but they gave a different narrative.”
He added, “The two adults gave conflicting explanations to different staff- that the babies were being taken to the United Kingdom to unite them with their parents and later they said they were sending the babies to Zimbabwe for adoption.
“Upon further questioning, the adults confessed that they were not the parents of the babies. Consequently, Air Peace’s Security Unit took both of them to the MMA2 Police Station where they admitted they were agents who traffic children for adoption. The Police said they would transfer the case to the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and action.”
Recall that Air Peace crew prevented two child trafficking schemes in June 2018 on a Lagos–Banjul flight and in January 2019 on a Lagos-Port Harcourt flight, respectively.
