OFFICIALS in Benin have boarded a ship suspected of trafficking child slaves that docked in the country’s commercial capital, but there was no sign of the scores of children the vessel was thought to have been carrying. Ramatou Baba Moussa, the social protection minister, said the Nigerian-registered MV Etireno, which UN and local officials originally thought left Benin with the children, may have been confused with a second ship, whose name and current location remain a mystery. UN officials in Cotonou earlier speculated whether the Etireno’s captain, a Nigerian with a criminal past, could have thrown his human cargo overboard. After the ship’s arrival, the same officials said the truth would probably not be known until the government finished an investigation, including interviews with the passengers on board. Benin and UN officials said port authorities in both Gabon and Cameroon had reported turning away a ship with anything from 100-250 child slaves aboard. – AP