By MAIMBO MWEEMBA
Police in Ndola in conjunction with the immigration department have rescued four children of Congolese origin in a suspected human trafficking scheme.
This comes after the officer at the Divisional Criminal investigations office received information that there were four couples believed to be Croatians that had booked rooms at Spree guesthouse in Kansenshi.
The incident happened on December 6th 2022 at around 20:00hrs.
Copperbelt Police Commanding Officer Peacewell Mweemba said the officer at the divisional Criminal investigations department then informed regional immigration officer Steward Chiyaka who in turn organised immigration officers to accompany police officers to do more investigations.
“The plan was to stop them at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe at the time of checking in,” he said.
Mr Mweemba said in a statement that on December 7th, 2022 at around 12:00hrs, Immigration officers at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe international Airport managed to intercept and apprehend four couples together with four suspected Trafficked children of Congolese national.
The suspects all believed to be of Croatian origin and couples have been identified as Damir Magic aged 44 and his wife Nadica Magic aged 45.
The duo was believed to be with their purported adopted child named as Beatrice Magic (new parents name) a one year and three months of Congo DR.
Another couple Subosic Zoran and his wife Azra Imamovic Subosic aged 41, with their purported adopted child Mariella Kalinde- Imamovic Subosic aged 3 of Congo DR.
Also Ladislav Persic aged 42, with his wife Aleksandr Persic aged 40 with their purported adopted child Kona Asnate- Persic aged 3 of Congo DR, and Noah Kraljevic aged 45 and wife Ivona Kraljevic aged 36, with their purported adopted child Jean Val- Kraljevic aged 3 of Congo DR
And Mr Mweemba said that preliminary investigations indicate that documents to do with the adoption of the four children believed to have been issued by the Congolese authority are not genuine.
‘To this effect, the office of the Consular General of Congo DR were engaged through the office of the Regional immigration officer, Mr Chiyaka, The position on the matter will soon be given, as the immigration are carrying out Investigations,” he said.
Mr Mweemba said that the four couples have been detained at Chifubu, Kansenshi, Central and Masala police stations.
He said the children have been taken to Social welfare facilities for the needed care.
