Police arrest 8 members of a kidnap syndicate in Kaduna

Damilare Famuyiwa 13:37 - 01 December 2023

The police laid an ambush at their meeting point [Leadership News]

Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have arrested eight suspected kidnappers, who have reportedly been terrorising residents of Oghara, Sapele, Warri, and their environs.

The arrested suspects identified as Raymond Etchie (46), Felix Okoro (40), Oghene Ogaga Sylvester (45), Henry Edeki (35), Ominike Sunday (23), Jerusalem Sunday (35) and Theophilus Akpofi (29), were said to be members of a kidnap syndicate.

In a statement in which the arrests were contained, Delta Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bright Edafe noted that the Force got a tip-off related to the kidnap of a 43-year-old woman (name with-held), whom he stated was abducted.

Recalling that the woman was stopped while driving her ML-350 Mercedez Benz, and whisked away by the robbers in a tricycle along Shell Road Sapele on Sunday, November 19, 2023, Edafe said Delta Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass, detailed the operatives of CP -DECOY Squad, led by the Commander, ASP Julius Robinson, to utilise all technically generated intelligence to get the perpetrators of the act.

It was gathered that the victim was taken away in her vehicle, until the vehicle ran out of fuel. They moved her into their operational tricycle. She was however released on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, upon payment of ₦2 million ransom.

Following her release, the CP-DECOY Squad team embarked on a sting operation assisted by the DPO Sapele which led to the arrest of the syndicate’s gang leader, Morrison Godwin, a 41-year-old male suspect from Okpara Waterside Community in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State at the Amukpe area of Sapele Town at about 11:00 am of the same date.

Upon his arrest, the suspect confessed to the crime and revealed an intended meeting with other gang members on Saturday, November 25, to strategise on another kidnapping operation.

Armed with this information, the team laid an ambush at their meeting point on Sunday, November 26, and arrested the other gang members.

The PPRO added that while all the suspects confessed to the crime, admitting their various roles and have been identified by the victim, they’ve also disclosed the location of the victim’s vehicle which was later recovered at Oghara Town.