Anti-trafficking organisation Challenging Heights says it supported the rescue of 144 victims of human trafficking and modern slavery in the first half of 2026 and is calling on Ghana’s security agencies to investigate allegations of a suspected cross-border baby-harvesting and baby-selling syndicate. In a statement issued on Tuesday, July 29, ahead of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, the organisation warned that modern slavery remains a pressing reality in Ghana and across the region. “Too many of our compatriots remain in denial — believing that slavery ended long ago, or that it happens only somewhere else.
According to Challenging Heights, the rescues were carried out in collaboration with the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service and other partners. The organisation said 42 of the victims were children rescued from forced labour on Lake Volta, comprising 19 boys and 23 girls. The remaining 102 victims were Nigerian nationals — 60 girls and 42 boys aged between 13 and 29.
It said the victims were subjected to different forms of exploitation, including forced labour in the fishing industry on Lake Volta, cybercrime and commercial sexual exploitation. According to the organisation, several Nigerian girls were lured to Ghana with promises of jobs in restaurants, supermarkets and grocery shops, only to be forced into commercial sexual exploitation in communities including Obuasi and parts of the Upper East Region. Allegations of baby-harvesting network Challenging Heights also disclosed that several survivors had provided what it described as consistent accounts of a suspected organised baby-harvesting and baby-selling operation.
According to the organisation, the survivors alleged that some young Nigerian women were trafficked into Ghana, forced to become pregnant and detained until they gave birth, after which their babies were allegedly sold. It cited the case of a teenage girl who had been in Ghana for about 11 months and was carrying a two-week-old baby when she was rescued. According to the organisation, the girl claimed the woman who had held her captive had attempted to sell her baby.
However, Challenging Heights stressed that it has not independently verified the allegations and is not presenting them as established fact. Instead, it said the accounts are “grave, credible a…
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