BREAKING: Police Capture Two International Fugitives Wanted in Belgium and UAE
Two globally wanted fugitives have been taken into custody by the Nigeria Police Force: Okwudili Sabastine Ezeje, a prominent member of an armed robbery group based in Dubai, and Felix Omoregie, also known as “Eghosa Johnson Omoregie,” a suspected ringleader of a human trafficking network that Belgian authorities are pursuing.
According to reports, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, the Police Force Spokesperson, announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
Following diligent intelligence and enforcement efforts by police officers, Felix Omoregie, the suspected mastermind of a massive human trafficking operation, was apprehended in Benin City, Edo State. He was wanted by Belgian authorities through an INTERPOL Red Notice issued on December 19, 2023. The Federal High Court in Benin City is where he is expected to be arraigned.
Omoregie is charged with spreading young Nigerian women, including children, throughout Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation after trafficking them to Italy. In addition to psychological coercion and voodoo-based oaths, victims were manipulated and controlled by false debts totaling between €20,000 and €50,000. His criminal network included handlers in France and Brussels who oversaw the victims’ operations and sent him the money they made. Omoregie escaped to Nigeria after being found guilty in absentia of several charges of aggravated human trafficking and criminal organization leadership in Belgium in 2021. A photocopy of a passport used for a planned move to Canada was among the damning items found during a search of his home after his arrest.
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In a different operation, Okwudili Sabastine Ezeje, 37, was captured by the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, at a hiding place in Nsukka, Enugu State. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are searching for Ezeje for a number of significant offenses, such as drug trafficking, cultism, armed robbery, and other organized crime. Ezeje continued to remotely organize criminal activities from Nigeria, according to intelligence acquired. A targeted attack on Al Ansari Exchange in Jumeirah, an armed robbery at a food store in Dubai Mall, and another heist at a Bureau de Change in Jebel Ali Village are just a few of the high-profile robberies in Dubai and Sharjah that he has been directly connected to.
“Strategic intelligence sharing and operational collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), and the Dubai Police led to the arrest,” the statement said. It is anticipated that Okwudili Ezeje will soon be arraigned.
“All of the officers involved in these well-publicized arrests are commended by Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, for their professionalism, diligence, and commitment to upholding Nigeria’s international law enforcement obligations.” The Nigeria Police Force is still dedicated to strengthening its international policing alliances and making sure that criminals are unable to find refuge within our boundaries. These arrests send a strong message that criminal elements will be held accountable regardless of how long they hide or how far they run. The Force urges people to continue being watchful and helpful in the domestic and international battle against organized crime.
