The Anambra State Police Command has arrested two suspects in connection with a staged kidnapping scheme orchestrated in collaboration with the victim’s boyfriend to extort money from her parents.
The victim, an 18-year-old woman, was rescued unharmed from a forest in the Awkuzu area, according to a statement released on Saturday by police spokesman SP Tochukwu Ikenga.
The arrests were made on March 14 by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad in Awkuzu following a breakthrough in investigations into multiple cases reported over the past two weeks.
The two suspects arrested were identified as Chinedu Chineye Nwobi, 25, and Okwudili Nweke, 25. The victim, Miss Mmesoma Ifediora, was found in a forest popularly known as “Malaysia Forest” located at Iruayika, Awkuzu.
Upon interrogation, the victim confessed that the kidnapping was staged in collaboration with her boyfriend, Obiora Okoye, with the intention of extorting ₦3 million from her parents.
“She further revealed that they had both taken an oath of secrecy and had been moving from one location to another over a period of about two months to sustain the deception,” the statement read.
The victim admitted that her parents had already paid ₦240,000 into her Opay account as part of the ransom demand.
Obiora, the boyfriend also known as “Stainless,” fled the scene upon sighting the police and remains at large.
Police recovered several items from the scene, including 10 SIM cards of different networks, one MTN 4G WiFi device, two female pants, one native calabash, one mobile phone, a necklace, a white bandage used to tie the victim’s hands and eyes, and computer cables.
In a related development, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad on March 18 arrested another suspect, Chukwuebuka Eze, 24, who was identified as the leader of a gang responsible for a kidnapping incident in Obosi.
The suspect, who has a distinctive tattoo on his chest reading “No weapon fashioned against me shall prosper,” was arrested following an investigation into the incident where a ransom of ₦150,000 was paid before victims were released. Their valuables were also forcefully taken.
Items recovered from Eze include one locally-made double-barrel shotgun, five live cartridges, and one Redmi mobile phone belonging to one of the victims.
The suspect confessed to the crime and other related criminal activities in the state, providing information about other gang members who are currently at large. Police said their investigative team is working to track down the remaining suspects.
Ikenga stated that these breakthroughs resulted from intensified intelligence-led operations, strategic deployment of personnel, and improved collaboration with other security agencies and members of the public.
All suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations, the police spokesman added.
