As part of its bullish approach to protect the female gender from the menace of the underworld, the Okon Effiong led Rivers State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has busted a criminal syndicate that lures women through an online dating application, Tinder for Relationships, to places where they kidnap, rape and collect ransom from them after making nude videos of them.

A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said operatives of the C4I Intelligence Unit at about 2030 hours on Friday, January 6, 2023 arrested the two members of the syndicate operating around Igwuruta in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The two men, Ikechi Promise, a 30 years old native of Akwu Community, and his alleged accomplice, Darlington Obi, a 35 years old native of Ikem Community, are both indigenes of Etche LGA of the State.

“Their arrest is linked to their recent operation, which occurred on December 20, 2022, around 1945 hours, when a 28 years old lady of Okoha Road, Iwofe, Port Harcourt, was lured down to Igwuruta market junction, kidnapped, and taken to Chokocho Pipeline, where the same kidnapping syndicate raped her and collected her two iPhones and a Samsung phone.

“The kidnappers later collected a ransom of Six Hundred Thousand Naira (N600, 0000.00) from the victims’ relatives before she was released on 21/12/2022.”

“The suspects confessed that their modus operandi is to lure girls out through chats on Tinder for Relationships, a popular social media platform.”

“Based on relentless follow-up, the gang leader of the kidnapping syndicate, Promise Nwaobiri ‘M,’ 32, was tracked and arrested at Choba Area of Port Harcourt on 09/01/2023 at about 1300hrs.

The search for and arrest of the fleeing suspects is in top gear.”

In the face of several reports in recent times of girls being lured through phones and kidnapped, the Command advised girls to be wary of relationships on social media that would warrant their travelling to meet people they have not physically seen or met before.

While painstaking effort is being deployed to ensure the above, members of the public are urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police at the following emergency numbers: 08039213071, 08098880134.