Hundreds of mutilated bodies found in suspected Nigerian organ-harvesting ring

An extensive organ-harvesting ring has been uncovered in Nigeria after weeks of covert surveillance, local officials have said.

In a statement shared on X, the Imo State Police Command said their investigation was launched after reports of a worrying spate of kidnappings near a hotel and mortuary in Ngor Okpala.

According to police, intelligence-led investigations went on to identify a man called High Chief Stanley Oparaugo, also known as "Morocco," as the suspected leader of the criminal network and who is now on the run and wanted, per reports.

Oparaugo is alleged to own Jessy Best Hotel in Ihitte Okwe and the nearby mortuary known as Ugwudi.

Police said victims were said to have been lured into the hotel before being robbed and abducted, with families also forced to pay ransom.

Authorities said some people who paid never saw their loved ones again.

The Command said abducted victims were then taken from the hotel to the mortuary, where they were allegedly killed and their organs harvested for sale.

When officers raided the Jessy Best Hotel, it was abandoned, but at the mortuary they found decomposed and mutilated corpses.

Police spokesperson Henry Okoye said more than 100 bodies had been found.

"A hotel and a private mortuary owned by the suspect, allegedly used by kidnappers and violent criminals, were inspected," he said in a statement.

"At the mortuary, decomposed and mutilated corpses were discovered in unhygienic conditions, raising suspicions of illegal organ-harvesting activities."

He added that the suspect’s residence was also searched and "crucial exhibits" were recovered, with forensic teams documenting evidence for the ongoing investigation.

"Maximum security has been deployed along the Owerri–Aba Expressway. The Command assures travelers during the holidays of its commitment to their safety," he added.

Nigeria has seen a rising amount of crime with kidnappings and abductions.

By Emma Bussey, Fox News

Senator from Nigeria jailed for 9 years by UK court for kidney-harvesting plot

A wealthy Nigerian politician, his wife and a doctor were jailed by a London court on Friday for trafficking a street trader from Lagos to Britain to illegally harvest his kidney for a transplant for their seriously ill daughter.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Ike Ekweremadu had been sentenced to nine years and eight months in Britain's first illegal organ-harvesting prosecution, while his wife Beatrice, 56, was sentenced to four years and six months.

Nigerian doctor Obinna Obeta, 51 - described by prosecutors as a middle man - was jailed for 10 years, the CPS said. All three were convicted in March of conspiring to arrange the travel of a man in order to harvest his organs.

President of the Nigerian senate Ahmad Lawan said earlier in the week he had written to the British judicial authorities seeking clemency for Ekweremadu - an opposition senator and former deputy president of Nigeria's senate - on behalf of the senate.

He said "it was the first time our colleague is getting involved in this kind of thing".

Prosecutors said the couple had brought the man to Britain in February last year with the offer of a few thousand pounds for his organ and the promise of work in Britain.

The case came to light when the man, who had made a living in Lagos selling telephone parts in a market, went to police saying he had been trafficked and someone was trying to harvest his kidney.

The proposed transplant never went ahead as a consultant at London's Royal Free hospital became suspicious about the circumstances surrounding the proposed donor, aged about 21 who cannot be named for legal reasons, who the family had tried to pass off as their daughter's cousin.

Sonia Ekweremadu, the intended recipient of the organ who has a serious and deteriorating kidney condition and requires dialysis, was found not guilty.

By Muvija M, Reuters

Related story: Nigerian politician Ike Ekweremadu, wife, and a doctor guilty of organ trafficking to UK

Nigerian Senator Ike Ekweremadu charged with organ-harvesting

Nigeria’s former deputy Senate president will go on trial in the United Kingdom in January for alleged organ harvesting, a judge has said.

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, is accused with his wife, Beatrice, 56, their daughter, Sonia, 25, and a doctor of bringing a man from Nigeria to have a kidney removed.

The 21-year-old man is said to have raised the alarm after refusing to consent to the operation following preliminary tests at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

The BBC reported that the Ekweremadu family allegedly treated the man like a slave before he ran away and went to Staines police station in Surrey.

Ekweremadu is a senator for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party for Enugu State in southeast Nigeria.

Ekweremadu and his family were arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport in June.

The family and the doctor, Obina Obeta, 50, are accused of conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view of exploitation.

Prosecutors say the kidney was meant for Sonia.

The alleged offence is believed to have taken place between August 1 last year and May 5 this year.

No pleas were entered when the defendants appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court on Monday.

Ekweremadu and Obeta were remanded into custody while Beatrice and Sonia were released on conditional bail.

Judge Mark Lucraft set another hearing date for December 16 and brought forward the defendants’ trial from May to January 31.

Al Jazeera

Related story: Nigerian senator accused of organ harvesting attempt in UK