The Delta State Police Command is investigating an alleged case of human trafficking and organ harvesting involving a 19-year-old woman from Ekpan.

Police said the matter was reported on April 3, 2026, at about 5:30 p.m. by the victim’s mother, whose identity was withheld. She told officers that her daughter, who had been living with her father in Okpaka, visited her in Ekpan in a seriously ill condition.

When questioned, the teenager said that in September 2025, she and two friends met a woman identified as Blessing Mongo, who introduced them to another suspect, Esther, and later to a third woman, Onome. The trio allegedly promised to take them to Ivory Coast for prostitution.

According to the victim’s statement, shortly after arriving in Ivory Coast, she was injected with an unknown substance and later taken to a hospital. She said that when she regained consciousness, she found her abdomen bandaged.

Police said the suspects subsequently brought her back to Nigeria and abandoned her in Lagos, from where she eventually returned to Delta State.

The command said two suspects — Blessing Mongo, 47, and Esther, 32 — were arrested following the complaint, while the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

Police added that a medical examination later indicated that the victim’s womb had allegedly been removed without her consent before she was returned to Nigeria.

The two suspects are in custody, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend other individuals linked to the alleged trafficking network.

The case has raised concerns over the increasing sophistication of transnational trafficking syndicates targeting vulnerable young women under the guise of overseas opportunities.

The command also disclosed that it charged about 455 criminal cases to court between January 2026 and April 2026, with 205 cases already prosecuted and 250 pending in courts across the state’s 25 local councils.

The Commissioner of Police, Yemi Oyeniyi, disclosed this during a press briefing in Asaba, stating that the figures reflect the command’s renewed push against crime.

He added that sustained prosecution should deter criminal elements, stressing that the command remains committed to ensuring public safety and justice, amid concerns over kidnapping, armed robbery, cult violence and trafficking in parts of Delta State. (Guardian)

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