A 53-year-old farmer, Bashiru Gambo, who attempted to offer his son for sale, has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in hard labour by the Tarkwa Circuit Court.

He was charged with trading a person contrary to Section 2(1) of the Human Trafficking Act 694 of 2005, pleaded guilty to the offense, and asked the court to forgive him.

Before the presiding judge, Mrs. Hathia Ama Manu, read the judgment, the prosecutor, Superintendent of Police Juliana Essel-Dadzie, said the rate at which people were missing had increased and appealed to the court to give a stiffer punishment to the convict to serve as a deterrent to others.

She said the victim, Alexander Kyeremeh, is a small-scale miner and resided at Manu-krom near Obuasi, while Gambo, the biological father of the victim, resided at Wassa-Abreshia near Wassa Akropong.

On Thursday, June 27, 2024, police officers stationed at Wassa-Nkonya picked up intelligence that Gambo had planned to offer the victim for sale.

The officers started monitoring Gambo upon the tip-off, and they later approached him and posed as buyers, and he became interested, engaging them extensively.

He bargained the price with the plain-clothed police officers to the tune of GH¢80,000 and even pledged to ensure he handed the victim over to them on Monday, July 1, 2024.

The court heard that on July 1, at about 1900 hours, Gambo accompanied the buyers to Manu-krom after he called the victim on the phone to meet them at the roadside.

Superintendent Essel-Dadzie said in the process, Gambo pointed out the victim to the buyers from a distance, after which he allowed him (the victim) to join their vehicle, but while on the way, the buyers revealed themselves to Gambo as police officers and arrested him at the Wassa Akropong Police Station.

He admitted the offence in his caution statement and alleged that he was going through hardship, hence the decision.