By Godwin-Maria Utuedoye
The Delta State Police Command through its spokesperson on Wednesday, said, suspected syndicate that specializes in using Facebook to lure their unsuspecting victims to hotels and rape and hold them hostage has been arrested in Ughelli.
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According to the PPRO, the Divisional Police Officer in Ofuoma Police Division in Ughelli North LGA on January 2, 2023, at about 1700hrs, received a complaint from a lady (name withheld) that she saw one of the hoodlums that kidnapped her on December 11, 2022 and held her hostage at a hotel in Iwhrekpokpor Community, Ughelli North LGA, before taking her nude pictures and recorded her on video while inserting a candle on her private part, and used same to blackmail the victim and her parents to pay huge ransom.
On receipt of this complaint, the DPO immediately detailed a combined team of Police detectives and Ekiugbo community vigilante to the area where one Cornelius Emene, ‘m’ 32 years was arrested.
During preliminary investigation, the suspects made useful statement that led to the arrest of two other suspects, Nelson Aghogho (aka Little), Ufuoma Tunde ‘f’, and also gave account of how they kidnapped another student of College of Health and Technology Ofuoma, Ughelli North LGA.
The modus operandi of the syndicate is to lure unsuspecting young girls on facebook, get them to a hotel, drug them, gang rape them, before holding them hostage and demanding ransom from their parents to secure their release.
The suspects phones contained numerous sex video recording of their previous victims, which was also used to blackmail them and their parents. The three suspects, Cornelius Ememah, Nelson Aghogho (aka Little), and Ofuoma Tunde ‘f’, are currently in custody, and investigation is ongoing.