A member of a child kidnapping and trafficking syndicate, Onome, has confessed that he made the first N1 million in his life when he sold his friend's child for about N1,300,000 (one million three hundred thousand naira). He, however, blamed his involvement in the crime on unemployment.

The suspect, a former driver, has been arrested by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) of the Anambra State Police Command after an intelligence-led investigation into cases of missing children. VCRU is the new tactical squad created by the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu.

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Onome narrated how he became involved in child trafficking, claiming he received a total of N3.6 million from two completed operations before he was arrested with his girlfriend and son in Onitsha, Anambra State.

His confession, which forms part of an ongoing police investigation, revealed an alleged operation built on trust, deception and financial reward. According to the suspect, what began as an opportunity to make quick money eventually drew him deeper into a network that moved children across states, while those believed to be coordinating the operation remained largely behind the scenes.

The Ebonyi State-born suspect told investigators that before his arrest he worked as a private driver. He had spent several months driving for a private employer, delivering vehicles and running errands. The work was demanding, but it provided a legitimate source of income.

That, however, changed after he lost the job following a period of absence from work after one of his assignments, leaving him without steady employment.

In his confession to the police, the suspect stated that his search for income eventually brought him into contact with people involved in child trafficking. During that period, he said, he met a woman. Their relationship gradually developed into an intimate one, and she later became his girlfriend.

As their relationship grew, he claimed they continued working together within the alleged trafficking network, carrying out assignments and maintaining regular communication with those coordinating the movement of children.

The first assignment, according to Onome, would become the beginning of his deeper involvement in the operation. He admitted that the child involved was the son of one of his own friends, someone who knew him well and trusted him completely. Because of that relationship, he said, the child did not suspect anything unusual when he was taken away.

Onome confessed that after successfully handing over the child to members of the alleged trafficking network, he received N1.3 million. He described the payment as the largest amount of money he had ever received at once. The financial reward, he admitted, convinced him that the operation was profitable and encouraged him to continue.

After the first successful operation, Onome's confidence and passion for child trafficking increased. This time, according to his confession, he was asked to facilitate the movement of two more children. He carried out the assignment and later received N2.3 million as payment. By his own account, the first two operations earned him a combined total of N3.6 million, money he admitted collecting before the operation eventually unravelled.

As his confidence grew, so too did the alleged network's trust in him. Onome claimed he became one of the people regularly contacted whenever children needed to be transported from one location to another. Instructions were allegedly communicated through telephone calls, while payments were made into his account after assignments were completed.

He said the organisers rarely met him in person, preferring instead to direct operations from a distance. His girlfriend, according to his statement, became an active part of the operation. Having met through the trafficking network, they allegedly worked together on subsequent assignments. While he handled the movement of children, she allegedly remained in contact with other members of the network, helping to coordinate arrangements and maintain communication throughout the operations.

Onome also admitted involving his own son. According to his confession, the boy assisted him during some of the assignments by helping to move children to agreed locations before they were handed over to other members of the alleged trafficking ring. He acknowledged that his son became part of the operation because of his own involvement.

The assignment that ultimately led to their arrest involved two more children. According to Onome, he travelled with the children to Onitsha, where they were expected to be received by another contact. After arriving in the city, he checked into a hotel with the children because, according to him, the people who were supposed to receive them said they were unable to meet him immediately.

He claimed he remained in the hotel while waiting for further instructions. During that period, money was allegedly transferred to him to cover accommodation and feeding expenses for himself and the children. He believed the handover would eventually take place as it had during previous assignments.

But this time, events unfolded differently. Before the children could allegedly be handed over, security operatives closed in on the suspects. Investigators had begun tracking the movement of the children, eventually leading them to Onome's location in Onitsha.

The operation ended with the arrest of Onome, his girlfriend and his son, bringing to a halt what he admitted had become a lucrative criminal enterprise.

Beyond the criminal investigation, the case has once again drawn attention to the devastating impact of child trafficking in Nigeria. It highlights how children can allegedly become victims through people they know and trust, including family friends and close associates.

The confession also underscores the challenges facing law enforcement agencies as trafficking syndicates increasingly rely on trusted relationships and carefully coordinated movements to avoid detection.