Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have arrested an 8-man kidnapping syndicate that has been terrorizing Oghara, Sapele, Warri, and other parts of the state.
Their arrest followed the Commissioner of Police CP Wale Abass detailing of the operatives of CP – DECOY Squad, led by the Commander ASP Julius Robinson after the gang recently released a kidnap victim they held captive for four days.
The victim a 43-year-old woman (name with-held), was kidnapped by the syndicate of armed men in a tricycle along Shell Road, Sapele on Saturday, November 19, 2023, at about 9pm while driving in her ML-350 Mercedez Benz.
The spokesperson for the Delta State Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe, in a statement said, “The victim was taken in her vehicle until the vehicle ran out of fuel, they moved her into their operational tricycle. She was released on 22/11/2023 upon payment of Two Million Naira (#2.000,000) ransom.”
DSP Edafe explained that after the release of the kidnap victim the CP – DECOY Squad, led by Commander ASP Robinson, on November 25, 2023, led his team 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 Water Side Community in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State at Amukpe Area of Sapele Town.
According to the police image-maker, “The suspect (Morrison Godwin) confessed to the crime and revealed an intended meeting with other gang members on 25/11/2023 to strategize on another kidnapping operation. Armed with this information, the team laid an ambush at their meeting point on 26/11/20023 and arrested the other gang members viz: Raymond Etchie ‘m’ 46yrs who negotiated and received the said ransom; Felix Okoro ‘m’ 40yrs who is one of the syndicate’s operational driver; Oghene Ogaga sylvester ‘m’ 45yrs who guarded the victim; Henry Edeki ‘m’ 35yrs, Ominike Sunday ‘m’ 23yrs, Jerusalem Sunday ‘m’ 35yrs, and Theophilus Akpofi “m” 29yrs.
“All suspects confessed to the crime admitting their various roles and have been identified by the victim.
“The suspects during interrogation disclosed the location of the victim’s vehicle which was later recovered at Oghara Town. Effort is being intensified to recover the syndicate’s operational weapons.”
