Police in Lakes State said they are investigating a suspect identified as Makhor over alleged child trafficking after five children were found in a vehicle in Rumbek.
Police said the children, aged between 7 and 11, were intercepted on Friday while allegedly being transported to Juba under the pretext that they would attend a church-run school.
Lakes State police spokesperson Lt. Col. Elijah Mabor Makuac told Radio Tamazuj that officers recovered the children at about 11:00 a.m. on May 7 during a security operation.
“The children were found in a vehicle being smuggled to Juba,” he said, adding that initial findings indicated the children and their parents had been misled that they were being taken to school.
He said the suspect had been arrested and that investigations were continuing.
Makuac linked the incident to earlier cases involving vehicles transporting children from Northern Bahr el Ghazal State toward Juba, some of which were intercepted in Western Bahr el Ghazal and others in Juba.
He said authorities had since increased surveillance after receiving reports that additional vehicles suspected of involvement in similar activities were in Rumbek.
“We urge the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement of children,” he said, adding that security forces had been instructed to intercept vehicles carrying large numbers of minors for verification.
He also said the children had been returned to their parents pending further investigations.
The police spokesperson warned that child trafficking was occurring in the state and called for public cooperation with security agencies.
Separately, the father of the five children, Majur Lok Aliap, said he had handed over his children after being told they would study in Juba at a church-affiliated school.
“I was told the children were going to school in Juba and I agreed,” he said, adding that he later learned they had been intercepted by police.
He said he had been questioned by investigators and confirmed the children were his.
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