Three gang members have been arrested by the Rivers State Police Command for allegedly luring ladies with love, raping and kidnapping them for ransom.
The gang, which operates online was smashed by the police during a separate operations within the state.
While the operatives of the Command arrested one Ikechi Promise aged 30, a native of Akwu Community in Etche local council, Darlington Obi, aged 35, a native of Ikem Community in the same local council was apprehended on January 6.
This was disclosed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
According to the spokesperson, the suspects are notorious for luring unsuspecting girls seeking relationships through chats on a popular social media platform, Tinder.
She, however, said their arrest was linked to the suspects’ recent operation, which occurred on December 20, 2022, around 7:45 pm, when a 28-year-old lady, was abducted and taken to Chokocko in Port Harcourt.
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The victim was allegedly raped by the miscreants, who also stole her two iPhones and a Samsung mobile telephone, and collected a ransom of N600,000 from her relatives before releasing her.
The statement read, “Operatives of the c4i Intelligence Unit, on January 6, 2023, around 8.30pm, arrested one Ikechi Promise, 30, and one Darlington Obi, 35.
“Their arrest is linked to their recent operation on December 20, 2022, around 7.45pm, when a 28-year-old lady was lured down to Igwurita Market Junction, kidnapped, and taken to Chokocho Pipeline, where the same kidnapping syndicate raped and collected her two iPhones and a Samsung phone.
“The kidnappers later collected a ransom of N600,000 from her relatives before she was released on December 21, 2022.
“The suspects confessed that their modus operandi was to lure girls out through chats on Tinder for relationships.
“Based on relentless follow-ups, the gang leader of the kidnapping syndicate, Promise Nwaobiri, 32, was tracked and arrested at the Choba area, near Port Harcourt, on January 9, 2023, around 1pm. The search for the fleeing suspects is in top gear.”
The police spokesperson said there was an upsurge in cases of women being lured and kidnapped through social media platforms.
Iringe-Koko advised girls to be wary of relationships on social media that would require them to travel to meet people they had not physically seen or met before.