Chukwudi Onuamadike, a notorious, high-profile kidnap kingpin, popularly called Evans, says ransoms for the release of his victims are usually paid in dollars.
The 36-year-old, who dropped out of school at Junior Secondary School 2, also confessed to have once collected $1m ransom.
Evans was arrested on Saturday in his mansion on Magodo Estate, Lagos, after a shootout with operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team and men of the Lagos State Police Command.
The police said his modus operandi was to engage a gang to carry out kidnapping, while another gang held the victims hostage until ransoms were paid. It was said that none of the gang members knew where he lived since 2008 when he reportedly went into kidnapping.
Six of his gang members are Nwosu Chukwuma, aka Sudo, 42; Suoyo Paul aka Nwana, 42; Felix Chinemerem, 36; Chukwuemeka Bosah, 28; Uchechukwu Amadi and Ogechi Amadi. Ugochukwu and Ogechi are husband and wife.
While Ugochukwu was said to be the leader of a gang in a camp in New Igando, Lagos, where they kept their victims, his wife reportedly prepared food in the camp.
Nwana was reportedly in charge of supplying guns used by the gangs, while Chinemerem was Evan’s second in command.
They were all paraded on Sunday at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja by the IGP, who was represented by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Moshood Jimoh.
Five AK-47 rifles, one AK-49 rifle, two English pistols, 59 AK-47 magazine with ammunition, 1,272 pieces of live ammunition of AK-47 (9mm) and five number plates were reportedly recovered from the suspects.
The police said Evans had raked in $4m from four of his 13 captives in Lagos, and used part of the proceeds to acquire two mansions worth N300m in Magodo Phase II, another two houses in Accra, Ghana, exotic cars, expensive wristwatches and jewellery.
Can you just imagine???
Source: Vanguard Newspaper,Punch
