Police smash deadly kidnap gang of ex-convicts in Rivers
Operatives of Rivers Police Command have busted a gang formed by some unrepentant ex-convicts for the purpose of kidnapping car snatching and other dangerous crimes in the state.
The area of operation of the gang was in the Ikwerre Road axis of Port Harcourt and areas spanning Mile 3 to Rumuokoro parts of the capital city.
According to Rivers Police Command, the ex-convicts led by one Chinoso Emmanuel, a father of three, began the process for the formation of the gang as inmates of Port Harcourt Maximum Security Correctional Facility.
He said the gang was busted after their attempt to kidnap a lady, Theresa Anyanwu was foiled on the 14th of January, 2023.
According to SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the Spokesperson for the Command, “The convener of the gang, Chinonso Emmanuel, 37, a native of Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, is a father of three and had been imprisoned on charges of attempted murder. He was in prison from February 2016 to November 2023, and at that time, he rose to prominence in the penitentiary and became a ‘korofo’, i.e. a hostel leader in prison. He used his influence to assemble a group of men who would serve a purpose outside the walls”.
According to one of the arrested gang members, Onyemachi Samuel, 33, detained for cultism, Chinonso used his position to bring favours to those he had plans for. He spoke of a time when he had a skin infection and was stranded in prison, and Chinonso approached him and offered help, giving him a bar of medicated soap to deal with his malady. That, he said, made him feel indebted to him. When he was released in December 2023, Chinonso, who had been released a month before, reached out to him. He also told the story of another gang member, Emeka. Emeka had been sent to solitary confinement for bad behavior within the prison. While he was there, Chinonso offered him membership of the gang, and in exchange, he began sharing his rations with him.
Another member of the gang in Police custody, Prince Dengo, 27, was imprisoned for gravely injuring a person in a street fight and was released on the 12th of December, 2023. Shortly after his release, he was approached by Chinonso around Rumuokoro, where he had begun working as a park lout (Agbero).
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