Police bust hotel, mortuary allegedly used for kidnapping, ransom deals and organ harvesting in Imo

In what security operatives have described as one of Imo State’s most chilling criminal discoveries in recent years, the Imo State Police Command has uncovered a hotel and an adjoining mortuary allegedly used as a base for kidnapping, ransom collection and organ harvesting in Ngor Okpala.

The operation, announced on Saturday, followed weeks of covert surveillance ordered by the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma, after a wave of disturbing kidnap attacks targeting motorists along the Airport–Owerri–Aba Road.

According to police sources, investigations pointed to High Chief Stanley Oparaugo, popularly known as “Morocco”, as the suspected mastermind of the syndicate.

Oparaugo, of Ngor Okpala, allegedly owns Jessy Best Hotel in Ihitte Okwe and a mortuary known as Ugwudi, both sitting strategically along the crime-ridden Airport–Owerri–Aba Road.

Police said the criminal network lured unsuspecting victims into the hotel, where they were ambushed, robbed and abducted.

While some families reportedly paid ransom, their kidnapped relatives never returned home — fueling suspicion of a more sinister operation.

Further investigations linked the hotel to the mortuary, where victims were allegedly taken, killed and dismembered for organ harvesting.

According to operatives, the harvested organs were sold to criminal buyers operating within and outside the state.

A combined team led by CP Danjuma stormed the locations. Jessy Best Hotel was reportedly found abandoned, raising fears that the syndicate may have fled shortly before police arrival.

But at Ugwudi mortuary, officers made the most horrifying discovery — several mutilated bodies, believed to be victims of the organ-harvesting ring.

Efforts are now in top gear to track the fleeing High Chief Oparaugo and other members of the gang.

The crackdown was carried out in collaboration with the Imo State Commissioner for Health, the Chairperson of Ngor Okpala Local Government Area and community vigilante groups.

Tactical units, including the ACP Operations, the DPO of Ngor Okpala and local security outfits, have taken control of the area to forestall further crimes.

The Imo State Police Command urged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities, emphasizing that public intelligence remains critical to breaking remaining links of the criminal network.