Police arrest kidnapper nicknamed Mopol with his gang members in Abia (photo)
The police in Abia state have arrested a team of five suspected kidnappers following the abduction of an 80-year-old man, Chief Felix Ogbonna, on November 26 and his subsequent freedom after a ransom was paid.
NAIJ.com learnt that the arrest of the suspects was with the technical support from operatives of the IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
The names of one of the suspect were given as 29 –year-old Samuel Chikaodi James, also known as Chiboy and alleged second in command.
The suspects while being paraded. Source: Nigeria police
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Chiboy is said to the driver of the operational vehicle used in kidnapping as well as the negotiator of ransoms. He reportedly received N3 million.
The others are Justice Iriah, also known as Mopol, a 23-year-old from Edo state, who is reportedly in charge of snatching and securing the hostages in the vehicle up to the kidnap den, Ikechukwu Igwebuike, better known as Anambra, a 22-year-old, and Chikachi Ubani, a 30-year-old in charge of the detention camp where hostages were kept.
Another suspect, Chineye Mark, who is 45 and panel beater, was reported as the one that often hid the operation vehicle in his workshop.
“The kidnappers confessed to have started their kidnapping operations this November 2017 and have been involved in three kidnappings in Aba, Abia state collecting ransoms of 250k, N1 million and N5.5million equivalent in dollars respectively.
“The suspects confessed to random kidnapping based on the nature of the vehicle being driven by their targets,” a statement by the police said.
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The police said an AK47 rifle, magazine and ammunitions, as well as the operational vehicles, a Lexus 300, and a Toyota Sienna bus, were recovered while effort is on to arrest two other fleeing members of the gang.
NAIJ.com earlier reported how a Catholic priest, Rev Fr Cyril Essien, regained his freedom from the clutches of kidnappers after allegedly paying a ransom of N350,000.
The money was dropped somewhere in Edgerton street in Calabar, Cross River state.
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Source: Naija.ng