The Imo State Government on Saturday sealed a hotel and private mortuary in Umuhu Autonomous Community, Ngor-Okpala, following the discovery of decomposed and mutilated corpses in unhygienic conditions, raising suspicions of illegal organ-harvesting activities.
The operation formed part of a crackdown on kidnapping and violent crimes along the Owerri–Aba Expressway, led by the Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, alongside other security stakeholders.
According to DSP Okoye Henry, the State Police Command Public Relations Officer, the action followed credible intelligence linking a suspected criminal, Stanley Morocco Oparaugo, to the facilities. The suspect remains at large.
“At the mortuary, decomposed and mutilated corpses were discovered in unhygienic conditions, raising suspicions of illegal organ-harvesting activities,”
Henry said. “Following these discoveries, both the hotel and mortuary were sealed on the directive of the State Government. The suspect’s residence was also searched, and crucial exhibits were recovered.”
The police assured the public that all accomplices would be identified and brought to justice. “Stanley Morocco Oparaugo has been declared WANTED. Anyone with useful information should contact the nearest police station. Maximum security has been deployed along the Owerri–Aba Expressway,” the statement added.
Travellers during the holiday season were reassured of their safety as the command intensified patrols along key routes.
In a related development, calls have intensified for the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission, and human rights organisations to probe allegations of unlawful detentions, extrajudicial killings, and torture by the Imo State Police Command’s anti-kidnapping unit, known as the Tiger Base Unit.
The calls followed the death of Levi Opara, a businessman from Emekuku in Owerri North Local Government Area, who reportedly died under suspicious circumstances while in custody of the unit.
Opara, 46, was arrested on October 15, 2023, after a domestic dispute and was found dead three days later, with conflicting accounts of his final moments.
