A couple has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for their involvement in kidnapping and human trafficking, in the case of a 12-year-old girl.

The sentence, according to an AIM publication, was handed down by Judge Cristina Saliwe, of the sixth criminal section of the Nampula Judicial Court, in the north of the country.

Jenita Henrique and Carlos André are guilty of violent or fraudulent robbery and trafficking of a child under 12, in the attempted form.

The third person involved in this criminal action, Augusto Monteiro, was sentenced to 18 years in jail, and the trio must jointly pay the victim 150,000 meticais in compensation.

AIM also states in the publication that the crimes committed and proven by the court were kidnapping, attempted trafficking of minors and association to commit crime.

According to the same publication, which quotes the judge, the crimes date back to August 2014 when the defendant, using trickery, managed to remove the minor from her relatives' home and, in collusion with her husband and the third convict, decided to sell her at a price of one million meticais.

The buyer, who could not be found, could pay up to 800,000 meticais.

The convicted woman justified her crimes with the plan to improve her life.