The Imo State Government, in collaboration with the state police command, has demolished a hotel, a mortuary and other properties allegedly linked to a suspected organ harvester in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area.
The affected facilities include Jessy Best Hotel and Ugwudi Cottage Hospital mortuary services, both located along the Owerri–Aba Road. Also pulled down were two high-value residential buildings a bungalow and a duplex with expansive compounds as well as a smaller apartment in Ngor community, believed to be a shrine where fetish objects were uncovered and set ablaze by enforcement teams.
Before the demolition, unclaimed corpses stored at the mortuary were evacuated to another body preservation facility.
Addressing journalists at the site, the Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, said the demolition was carried out on the directive of Governor Hope Uzodinma.
He disclosed that the owner of the properties, Stanley Oparaugo, also known as Morocco, had been declared wanted by the police for allegedly refusing to honour several invitations extended to him.
According to the police boss, intelligence reports available to the command indicated that the properties served as a hub for various criminal activities.
Danjuma said the demolished mortuary was suspected to be used for organ harvesting, noting that many of the corpses found there were mutilated.
The commissioner added that “the suspect can only run but can’t hide for too long as the long arm of the law would catch up with him”.
He assured residents and road users that the Owerri–Aba Expressway would remain safe, while appealing to members of the public to volunteer useful information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of the fleeing suspect.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Chioma Egu, said the demolition of the mortuary was aimed at preventing further health and security threats in the state.
She explained that the facility was neither registered nor licensed, adding that investigations by her ministry revealed that vital organs were missing from several corpses deposited at the centre.
Egu announced that the ministry would set up a task force to clamp down on unlicensed and substandard mortuary and preservation centres across the state.
In her remarks, the Chairman of Ngor Okpala Local Government Area, Chika Ibekwe, expressed gratitude to the governor for what she described as his courage in tackling insecurity in the area.
She assured residents that the council would remain safe for both inhabitants and visitors.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Monitoring and Compliance, Chinasa Nwaneri, alongside his team, was also present during the demolition exercise.