Ogun Police bust fake kidnap syndicate, arrest eight foreign nationals

By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

The Ogun State Police Command has uncovered a transnational criminal syndicate that allegedly staged a fake kidnapping to extort ransom from a family abroad, leading to the arrest of eight foreign nationals in the Agbado area of the state.

The suspects were arrested during an intelligence-led operation carried out by detectives attached to the Ifo Police Division following reports that a Mauritanian national, Cheik El-Mehdi, had claimed to have been kidnapped in Nigeria and demanded ransom from his family.

Police spokesman, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, disclosed in a statement on Monday that investigations later revealed that the alleged victim was part of the scheme.

Those arrested include Zakaria Zawadogo, 34, a Burkinabe; Cheik El-Mehdi, 23, from Mauritania; Suren Neta, 25; Koffi Breno, 36; Gondo Treso, 32; Kougasi John; and Hemue Blinsi, 30, all from Côte d’Ivoire, as well as Kunuji Ezekiel, 27, from the Republic of Benin.

According to the police, the case came to light after a concerned informant reported on June 6 that El-Mehdi had contacted his family overseas in May, claiming he had been abducted and required ransom payment to secure his release.

The Command said Zakaria Zawadogo subsequently reinforced the demand by allegedly threatening that the victim would be killed if the money was not paid.

Acting on the information, detectives launched an investigation which traced the suspects to a hideout in Adiyan Town, Agbado.

“The technical intelligence report revealed that the suspects were operating from a hideout in Adiyan Town, Agbado Area of Ogun State. Acting on this intelligence, operatives were swiftly mobilized to the location where Zakaria Zawadogo was arrested,” the statement said.

Police said the suspect later led operatives to the hideout where the remaining members of the group were apprehended.

Preliminary investigations showed that the alleged kidnapping was staged as part of a coordinated plan to defraud the victim’s family.

The police further disclosed that Suren Neta allegedly lured El-Mehdi to Nigeria, while Zawadogo coordinated the ransom demands and threats intended to compel payment.

“The purported victim was also found to have actively participated in the orchestration of the fake abduction,” the Command stated.

The police added that the principal suspects had confessed to their involvement, while investigations were continuing to determine whether the syndicate had links with other transnational criminal networks.

The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.

Commending the detectives involved in the operation, the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Command, CP Bode Ojajuni, said the successful operation demonstrated the importance of intelligence-led policing in combating organised crime.

He reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to tackling criminal activities and urged residents to promptly report suspicious movements and ransom-related incidents to security agencies.