Godwin-Maria Utuedoye
Operatives from the Delta State Police Command Quick Response Squad (QRS) have successfully raided an apartment operating as “Hustler’s Kingdom” (HK) and rescued seven boys who were being held against their will.
Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP. Bright Edafe, in a statement, disclosed that the rescue operation followed a distressing complaint from one of the boys, who said he was deceived into the apartment, only to discover it was a place where young men were forced to do illegal Internet fraud.
According to one of the boys, they are only fed once a day, and whenever they fail to catch a paying client, they will be beaten and brutally flogged with a cane, leaving visible injuries on their backs.
“They beat us if we do not catch mama wey dey pay.”
Edafe added that the police swiftly acted on the report, stormed the area, and arrested two suspects who identified themselves as the chairmen of the notorious Hustling Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Hustling Kingdom has been described as a torture house that preys on vulnerable youth, coercing them into involvement in illicit fraudulent schemes under threat of violence.
This hustler’s kingdom is often described and seen as a place where exploitation and abuse accompany cybercrime training and criminal activities.
Police authorities have vowed to intensify efforts to dismantle such criminal networks exploiting vulnerable individuals, protect such victims, and bring perpetrators to justice.