Delta Police Bust ‘Hustlers Kingdom’ Syndicate, Rescue Victims Forced Into Internet Fraud

The Delta State Police Command has uncovered an alleged criminal operation known as Hustlers Kingdom (HK), where young men were reportedly lured with fake job offers, abducted and forced into internet fraud.

The Command’s spokesperson, SP Edafe Bright, disclosed this on Wednesday while parading some of the rescued victims and exhibits recovered from the facility.

According to him, the operators allegedly recruited unsuspecting young men through WhatsApp channels, advertising job opportunities and promising them employment. However, upon arriving at designated locations, the victims were reportedly blindfolded, taken to an undisclosed house and forced to engage in internet fraud.

Edafe Bright explained that the victims were subjected to intimidation and physical punishment whenever they failed to meet financial targets imposed by the operators.

Items recovered from the facility included machetes, batons, substances suspected to be drugs, laughing gas, balloons and medical equipment, including drips and injections, which the occupants allegedly used to administer treatment to themselves.

One of the rescued victims narrated how he was approached by a man who claimed to own a large company and needed workers. He said he was later picked up at night, blindfolded and taken to the facility without knowing its location.

According to him, upon arrival, he was given substances to use before being presented with a chair, cutlass and knife and asked whether he was ready to work.

He further disclosed that he was threatened with flogging whenever he failed to generate the amount of money demanded by the operators.

During the interrogation, a man identified as a supervisor at the facility admitted that the recruits were sourced through WhatsApp channels, where advertisements seeking young men for hustling were circulated.

The supervisor also confirmed that the recruits were blindfolded during transportation to prevent them from identifying the location of the facility.

Although he denied that the baton had been used to assault anyone, he admitted that a machete was sometimes used to flog recruits when they made mistakes or disobeyed instructions.

The police spokesperson described the operation as a disturbing case of exploitation and forced criminal activity, adding that each of the rescued victims had a different account of how they were deceived into joining the group.

He further disclosed that the alleged head of Hustlers Kingdom was still at large, while the police continued investigations into the operation.