An alarming organ-trafficking network has been dismantled in Nigeria, following weeks of meticulous undercover surveillance, local authorities have announced.

The Imo State Police Command revealed in a statement on X that their probe began after an unsettling surge in abductions was reported near a hotel and mortuary in the Ngor Okpala area.

Law enforcement officials, utilizing intelligence-driven methods, identified High Chief Stanley Oparaugo, also known by the alias “Morocco,” as the alleged mastermind behind the operation. Oparaugo is currently evading capture and has been declared a wanted individual, according to sources.

Oparaugo is believed to own the Jessy Best Hotel in Ihitte Okwe, as well as an adjacent mortuary known as Ugwudi, both of which are implicated in the investigation.

Oparaugo is alleged to own Jessy Best Hotel in Ihitte Okwe and the nearby mortuary known as Ugwudi.

Police said victims were said to have been lured into the hotel before being robbed and abducted, with families also forced to pay ransom. 

Authorities said some people who paid never saw their loved ones again.

The Command said abducted victims were then taken from the hotel to the mortuary, where they were allegedly killed and their organs harvested for sale.

Local Nigerian officials said a suspected secret organ-harvesting ring has been uncovered in Nigera following weeks of covert surveillance. (Imo State Command.)

When officers raided the Jessy Best Hotel, it was abandoned, but at the mortuary they found decomposed and mutilated corpses.

Police spokesperson Henry Okoye said more than 100 bodies had been found.

“A hotel and a private mortuary owned by the suspect, allegedly used by kidnappers and violent criminals, were inspected,” he said in a statement.

Victims were allegedly lured to hotel before being killed at nearby mortuary for organ sales.

“At the mortuary, decomposed and mutilated corpses were discovered in unhygienic conditions, raising suspicions of illegal organ-harvesting activities.”

He added that the suspect’s residence was also searched and “crucial exhibits” were recovered, with forensic teams documenting evidence for the ongoing investigation.

“Maximum security has been deployed along the Owerri–Aba Expressway. The Command assures travelers during the holidays of its commitment to their safety,” he added.

Nigeria has seen a rising amount of crime with kidnappings and abductions. 

As reported by Fox News Digital, the government of Nigeria also secured the release of the 100 schoolchildren who were abducted, according to local media.

Those children were taken from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger state, on Nov. 21. 

The news came as Christians face ongoing persecution in Nigeria, leading President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a “country of particular concern.”