Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Ogun State Police Command, have rescued nine foreign nationals and the arrest of two suspects linked to a transnational fraud syndicate.
The suspects, Stephen Kwame, and Abubakar Sulaimon, were apprehended at their hideout in the Owode Egba area of the state.
In a statement,DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Command, said the incident occured on 6th April 2026, at about 1200hrs.
According to him, following actionable intelligence received via INTERPOL, operatives of the Unit swiftly mobilized and stormed the identified criminal hideout where one Maclaud Owusu ‘M’, aged 40, a Ghanaian national, was being unlawfully held.
The operation led to the successful rescue of the victim unhurt alongside eight other victims held under similar circumstances, the statement said.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspects are members of an organized criminal syndicate that lures foreign nationals, particularly from Ghana, to Nigeria under the false promise of facilitating their travel to Europe.
Upon arrival, the victims were deceived, confined, and their mobile phones are used to contact relatives and associates to demand money under false pretences. The principal victim, Maclaud Owusu ‘M’, was defrauded of the sum of Thirty-One Thousand Ghana Cedis (₵31,000) before police intervention.
According to the statement, the suspects were arrested at the scene, while the victims have been secured and provided with necessary assistance.
The principal victim has since been reunited with his family, while efforts are ongoing to reunite the other rescued victims with their respective families. Investigation is ongoing to track down and bring all accomplices connected to the syndicate to justice.
The suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of the investigation, the statement said.
The Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Command, CP Bode Ojajuni, commended the professionalism, tactical efficiency, and swift response of the operatives, as well as the synergy with international law enforcement agencies.
He reiterated the Command’s zero tolerance for all forms of criminality and assures that such syndicates will be decisively dismantled.
