ByMATTHEW OGUNE, Abuja

Operatives of the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested a leader of a syndicate selling and buying human organs for trafficking to foreign countries.

The syndicate leader, Ukaeje John Emeka, also known as Dr Phil Mark, Dr Donald Phillip and Dr Wesley David, was arrested on April 16, 2021 at Rumukparali, Ozuoba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, based on established intelligence on his suspicious fraudulent internet dealings.

Preliminary investigations by the EFCC showed that the suspect was leading a syndicate of fraudsters falsely presenting themselves as medical doctors, with a human organ bank, particularly kidneys for sale and purchase.

Victims of the syndicate include people with renal diseases and healthy people desirous of selling their organs in Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates.

Items recovered from the suspect include one Nigerian passport, one Republic of Cote D’ivoire passport, nine ATM cards; one black-coloured HP laptop; one gold-coloured Tecno L9 plus phone; one-gold coloured Samsung Galaxy J8 and one ash- coloured Lexus ES 330 salon car.

The commission is on the trail of other members of the syndicate within and outside Nigeria.

(The Guardian)