By Rita Enemuru, Reporting
THE Delta State Police Command has raided and dismantled an alleged torture house operating under the banner Hustlers’ Kingdom (HK), where seven young boys were reportedly held captive and brutalised under the pretence of being trained for internet fraud, popularly known as “yahoo yahoo”.
The operation was triggered by a daring escape by one of the victims, 28-year-old Chukwuike, who leapt through a window to flee the apartment and alert the authorities.
Chukwuike revealed that he had spent over two months in the apartment, where he and others were routinely starved, beaten and denied access to their mobile phones.
“We barely ate. Sometimes we ate once in a day, then went four days without food. Anytime we said we wanted to leave, the chairman beat us with a cane. That was why I jumped from the window. The marks on my back came from the beating because we didn’t have a paying client,” he said.
Another victim, a 23-year-old from Benue State, said he had been held for a month and repeatedly stopped from leaving despite asking to return home.
Police spokesperson SP Bright Edafe said the victims had visible injuries on their backs, confirming they were severely whipped by their captors. “You need to see the boy’s back,” he said, describing the wounds as shocking.
Police officers, acting swiftly on the information provided, stormed the location and rescued all seven boys. Two suspects, identified as the “chairmen” of the HK ring, were arrested.
The rescued victims are receiving medical treatment, while the suspects remain in custody and are expected to face charges including human trafficking, unlawful confinement, assault and exploitation.
SP Edafe urged parents and communities to be alert to the increasing emergence of criminal hideouts masquerading as training centres, stressing that the Command will not relent in shutting down such operations.
“We will continue to clamp down on syndicates exploiting our youth. Protecting young people from harm and manipulation is a priority for the Delta State Police Command,” he added.
Investigations are ongoing as police work to trace other similar networks operating across the state.
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