LAGOS POLICE COMMAND RESCUES 217 FROM SWEATSHOP IN MAROKO 

… Dislodges Cultists, Hoodlums, Others 

The Lagos State Police Command has rescued 217 young boys and girls who were recruited by a Chinese/Lebanese group known as Hengfa and camped in unsavoury conditions in a building for alleged cryptocurrency trading and other online businesses.

This revelation was contained in a recent Situation Report of the Lagos State Command for the past week, adding that the rescue was carried out after some officers responded to a distress call received that groups of young boys and girls were seen hibernating at Eazzy Homes Court II in Oniru Estate. Maroko. The Police discovered that the young boys and girls were recruited from different parts of the country by the Hengfa group.

“217 subjects comprising 50 young females and 167 young males, were successfully rescued from the place. On interrogation, the subjects could not give a satisfactory account of their mission or produce any means of identification. However, the manhunt for the owner(s) of the building and promoter(s) of the Hengfa group for questioning is being intensified, and investigation is in progress”, the report said.

The State Command also revealed that a distress call was also received that one Motunrayo Olaniyi (30) allegedly stabbed his wife, Olajumoke Oyedeji (25), over a domestic scuffle in their room at Amazing Grace Estate, Elepe, Ikorodu. 

The husband reportedly stabbed the wife to death, locked her in the room and set it ablaze while he inflicted wounds on himself. 

Responding to the call, a team of detectives visited the scene to discover that the fire had been put out while the lifeless body of the wife was lying on the floor with wounds on her abdominal part. The husband was rushed to a nearby hospital due to his allegedly self-inflicted injury for treatment and after being discharged was taken into custody as a suspect.

However, on interrogation, he confessed to having stabbed his wife during an altercation between them and gave himself mild wounds. Meanwhile, the wife’s corpse has been deposited at Ikorodu General Hospital Morgue for autopsy. 

Similarly, the report of the State Police Command also stated that officers were able to track and recover a Toyota Corolla belonging to one Ogunkobade Akinola who reported that the said car was stolen from where it was parked 

The car was later tracked and found in the custody of one Ayuba Rasheed of Igando. The suspect was immediately arrested and detained pending further investigation into the case. 

The security report also revealed that after receiving a tip-off about a group of armed hoodlums numbering about five riding on two motorcycles were allegedly robbing people of their belongings at Iyana School Bus-Stop. Police patrol vehicles were promptly mobilised to the scene where they were able to dislodge the robbers with two of them sustaining injuries from a vehicle accident when they tried to escape while the other three were still at large. Two locally made pistols, one unexpended cartridge and their unregistered TVS operational motorcycle were recovered, while effort is ongoing to track down other fleeing suspects. 

In addition, the Command also disclosed how it captured two suspected kidnappers around Mowonla, Ikorodu who were on the verge of kidnapping a victim, adding that the suspects had confessed to the crime during interrogation. Still, on its mandate of protecting lives and properties in Lagos, the Command was able to dislodge cultists and hoodlums who hitherto terrorised their communities with unauthorised weapons recovered from them. 

The officers of the State Police Command, firefighters and other emergency responders, jointly helped to put out fires at Oke-Odo when an inferno gutted a residential building located at No 13 Olanrewaju Street off Oki Street Iyana Ipaja. Due to the collaboration and combined efforts of the responders, only one life was lost, however, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

In his remarks on the Commands’ recent achievements and successes in curbing the activities of criminals across the State, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Idowu Alabi commended the swift responses of the officers to distress calls, reiterating the Command’s commitment to ensuring safety and security of Lagos residents. He added that the Police will continue to intensify efforts to rid the state of criminal elements and safeguard the lives and property of all residents.