Exclusive – the Kidnap Syndicate in Delta

Posted by admin Delta, Headlines, Niger Delta, State News Sunday, December 23rd, 2012

KIDNAPPING (read man-stealing) has metamorphosed into such a very big industry in Delta State that it currently has a loose association, comprising graduates and undergraduates with an organized set-up and leadership.

Our investigations showed that it is no longer a case of the money-making kidnappers abducting and looking for where to hide their captives from security agents. There are four major departments in the industry. The first is the abduction squad, which kidnaps victims. The second is the transportation/receiver unit, which is in-charge of shepherding the victims to secret locations and keeping them in hideouts.

The third group is the negotiation department, which negotiates ransom with relations of victims and others; the fourth is the security department. The duty of the fourth group is to provide round-the-clock security in the dens and other hideaways where victims are kept until ransom is paid for their release. All these groups are armed.

An insider confided in Sunday Vanguard that the kingpin of the kidnapping syndicate at the moment in Delta State is one Kelvin from Kokori, Ethiope-East Local Government Area.

Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, confirmed the restricted information in an interview in Asaba on Tuesday, saying, “Kelvin is the most dangerous kidnapper in Delta State and we are looking for him”.

Aduba said Kelvin was training kidnappers and was recruiting graduates and undergraduates, as well as Okada (motorcycle) riders into his underworld team.

The commissioner asserted that the kingpin has so many kidnap gangs and the police have been finding it difficult to track him, while practically all Okada men in that axis are his informants.

It was alleged that Kelvin’s parents know about the involvement of their son in kidnapping , as they reside in the same neighbourhood, but, because of the modus operandi and influence of the syndicate, it has been very difficult for the police to make a breakthrough, as information always leaked information on imminent crackdown to him.

Kidnapping nerve center

Our findings corroborated by a dependable source showed that the operational headquarters of the kidnapping industry in the state now is Kokori. Victims abducted from several parts of the state are whisked there for the next stage of the business.

-Vanguardwp_posts