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Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a couple said to be running a child stealing syndicate in the Mowe area of Ogun State.
The police also rescued a four-month-old baby which had been stolen about two days earlier and two others, with one of them stolen in 2024 from the parents.
The police also arrested the man and wife allegedly linked to the abduction of the infants.
Police spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, in a statement on Wednesday, identified the suspects as Oluwarankami Kehinde Ugochukwu and her husband, Ugochukwu Mathew.
Babaseyi said they were apprehended by detectives attached to the Mowe Division following an intelligence-led operation coordinated by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Afeniforo Folake.
According to him, the arrest was triggered by a complaint lodged on May 17, 2026, by a resident of Omo Onile area in Mowe, who reported that her four-month-old baby had been stolen a day earlier while she was receiving treatment at a clinic.
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He added that the female suspect allegedly visited the clinic pretending to care for the nursing mother before deceitfully taking custody of the infant under the guise of helping to look after the child.
“She thereafter absconded with the baby,” the statement said.
Following the report, detectives immediately launched a manhunt, placing motor parks and strategic locations under surveillance while intensifying intelligence gathering across the area.
The operation paid off on May 18 at about 7:55 p.m. when detectives tracked the suspects to a hideout in the Kekere Ekun area of Mowe. The stolen baby was recovered alongside two other children found in the couple’s possession.
Preliminary investigations further revealed that one of the rescued children had been declared missing in a similar child-stealing incident reported in 2024, where the victim was allegedly taken from a hairdressing salon using the same deceptive tactic.
Police said the biological parents of two of the rescued children have already identified and reunited with their wards.
The case has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta, for further investigation.
Commending the swift response of the officers involved, the Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, CP Bode Ojajuni, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to tackling child trafficking, abduction, and other violent crimes across the state.
He also urged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities through the command’s emergency lines.
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