The police at Nyamebekyere Mile 32 Checkpoint in the Nzema East District in the Western Region have rescued 10 children wearing school uniforms, and said to have been hidden in a 207 Mercedes Benz cargo van for sale in Cote d’Ivoire. The Axim District Police Commander, ASP Ohene Gyan, said the cargo van, with a Nigerian registration number XG677LSD, had been impounded by the police. He added that two men, Anthony Arthur and Kwasi Ahanta, believed to be behind the attempt to traffic the children to Cote d’Ivoire, were in police custody. He attributed the success of the police in arresting the suspects to the vigilance of the Western Regional Police Command and its determination to clamp down on child trafficking in the region. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) in charge of the Western Region, Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan told the Daily Graphic that the police personnel on duty with officials of Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) at the checkpoint rescued the seven girls and three boys, aged between eight and 16, from a poorly ventilated part of the cargo van, which had been closed with a padlock. Ironically, when the police asked the suspects to enter the same compartment of the van to be transported to the Regional Police Command, they refused, complaining about the unbearable heat and poor ventilation there. The deputy commissioner said upon interrogation, the suspects claimed that the children were being sent to Abidjan at the request of their parents. However, they could neither mention the names of the children and their parents nor where they were from. It also came to light during questioning that the children, who were picked from Mankessim in the Central Region, and Shama, Apremdo and Apowa in the Western Region, were asked by the suspects to wear their school uniforms to enable them to outwit the police. The regional commander added that the children had been coached on what to say when they were questioned by the police. DCOP Alhassan said of the 10 children, four were from Mankessim, two from Shama, two from Apremdo and the remaining two from Apowa. The children are now with Mercy Foundation, an orphanage in Takoradi, while investigation continues. Source: Daily Graphic