Imo State security forces have sealed a private mortuary and adjoining hotel in Umuhu community, Ngor Okpala LGA, after uncovering mutilated and decomposing bodies in conditions strongly suggesting illegal organ harvesting linked to kidnapping syndicates.

The raid, led personally by Commissioner of Police Aboki Danjuma on Saturday, December 6, followed intelligence implicating the facility’s owner, Stanley Morocco Oparaugo, who has now been declared wanted and is believed to be on the run.

Accompanying the CP were Health Commissioner Dr. Chioma Egu, Chief Pathologist Dr. Ibeaja Okechukwu, Ngor Okpala council chairman Chika Ibekwe, and local vigilante leader Henry Ikpe. The team documented dozens of corpses in advanced states of decomposition and mutilation inside the unlicensed mortuary, with police describing the scene as “horrifying and unhygienic.”

Police spokesperson DSP Henry Okoye confirmed that the mortuary and hotel were sealed immediately on state government orders. Officers also searched Oparaugo’s nearby residence, recovering unspecified “crucial exhibits.” Forensic teams have begun analysis, while maximum security patrols were deployed along the Owerri–Aba Expressway, a notorious kidnapping corridor believed to funnel victims to the facility.

“This is part of our sustained war against kidnapping and violent crime,” Okoye said. “We have strong reasons to believe this location was used by criminal syndicates to hold victims and harvest organs. The owner is at large, and we urge anyone with information on Stanley Morocco Oparaugo to call 0803 477 3600 or report to the nearest station.”

Residents of Umuhu told reporters they had long harbored suspicions about the mortuary, which operated without visible licences and often restricted families from viewing bodies. One local source claimed corpses were sometimes delivered at night by unmarked vehicles and that “strange people” frequented the hotel.

The discovery adds a chilling dimension to Nigeria’s kidnapping epidemic, particularly in the southeast, where ransom demands are increasingly accompanied by threats of organ removal.

Governor Hope Uzodimma’s administration has vowed zero tolerance. CP Danjuma assured that all accomplices—inside and outside the state—will be tracked and prosecuted.

For Imo residents, the raid underscores both the scale of criminal innovation and the urgency of restoring public trust in security institutions. The manhunt for Oparaugo now stands as a litmus test of the state’s resolve against organized crime.