RIVERS POLICE BURST ONE CHANCE SYNDICATE, UNCOVER DISTURBING HUMAN TRAFFICKING SCHEME

 

By Dr Helen Chimezie

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have burst a suspected one-chance syndicate operating in Port Harcourt in a high-speed chase that ended in tragedy for the gang’s leader.

The suspects were paraded at the Command’s headquarters in Port Harcourt by the Police Public Relations Officer in Rivers State, SP Grace Iringe-Koko.

The Police PRO  while briefing news men in Port Harcourt said that on September 4, 2024 at about 9pm, Operatives of the Command attached to the Intelligence and Surveillance Unit on a routine patrol along Garrison axis of Aba road, Port-Harcourt, sighted a purple coloured Volkswagen Golf 3, with registration number RIVERS -ABU 738 LS, with six occupants. As the patrol van approached the vehicle, one of the occupants was pushed out of the car around the Garrison flyover area.

This heinous action heightened suspicions of the Operatives who then gave the vehicle a hot chase, eventually intercepting the suspects at the Eleme junction just under the bridge.

According to SP Iringe-Koko, the driver and one other escaped, while the Police apprehended three suspects namely; Thaddeus Sunday Ogu , a 42-year-old male native of Orlu Community in Njaba LGA of Imo State and self acclaimed artisan residing at Camp Pipeline, Oyigbo, Chinagorom Eze, aged 35 years, a female native of Ekpija Community in Enugu North LGA of Enugu State but resident at Railway, Oboama Oyigbo and Favour Yusuf, aged 30 years and a female native of Plateau State, presently residing at Anele Filling Station, Mbano Camp, Oyigbo.

One of the suspects, Thaddeus Sunday Ogu attempted to evade arrest by opening fire on the Police operatives which led to him sustaining bodily injuries that eventually proved fatal. He was taken to the Police Clinic, Port-Harcourt where he succumbed to his injuries after receiving treatment.

She said “Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects specialize in one chance operations, luring unsuspecting victims into their operational car posing as a commercial vehicle. They would create a single passenger space (chance) at the front seat, while the gang members would occupy every other chance. When a victim gets in, they would raise a false alarm in order to get the victim agitated, eventually dispossessing him or her of their money or phones and pushing them out of the moving car. They would then sell the stolen items to awaiting receivers and share the proceeds amongst themselves”.

She said the suspects’ confession reveals that they have been operating in Port Harcourt and its environs between 10pm to 5am daily for the past three years before meeting their waterloo on that fateful day.

Items recovered from the suspects include their operational Golf 3 Volkswagen Car and one locally made pistol with one live cartridge .

She assured that investigation is ongoing, while efforts have intensified to arrest other fleeing members of the syndicate.

The suspects and exhibits are in Police custody and will be charged in court at the conclusion of the investigation.

While this incident shocked many, a separate investigation by the Police Command, revealed an even darker crime lurking in the shadows.

The Police PRO hinted that, on August  25, 2024, at about 6.35 a.m., Operatives of the Command attached to Ubima Divisional Headquarters received a complaint from a middle-aged woman (name and address withheld) indicating that one Queen Orlu aged 20 years was seen lying unconscious in Omeka Farmland at Ucheabuor.

“Operatives immediately mobilized to the scene where the victim was met in a pool of blood with multiple injuries all over her body and her intestines protruding out of a cut on her stomach. 

Police investigations revealed that the victim was lured into a bush path at Ubima by a man named Polycarp Uzoma. She was brutally assaulted and left to die. Uzoma’s motive was to kidnap and sell Queen Orlu’s one-year-old son, Desire Orlu, in a child trafficking scheme that has shocked the region.

The baby was sold for ₦1.4 million in a deal brokered by an auxiliary nurse, Chinyere Ordu, and buyer, Happiness Amadi. Quick police action led to the baby’s rescue and the arrest of the three involved. Queen Orlu remains in critical condition at the ICU, while her story highlights the disturbing concern over human trafficking.

The dual operations have sent a clear message to criminal elements in Rivers State that the police is on high alert, determined to reduce the crime rate in the State.

 


Ends/




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