The Edo State Police Command has uncovered a staged kidnapping involving a young dispatch officer who allegedly tried to hide a N1.3 million gambling loss.
Police said the suspect, a 21-year-old employee of a manufacturing firm, was reported missing in Okpella on January 30.
According to police, the report stated that the worker left his residence on a motorcycle and failed to return.
The motorcycle was later found abandoned along a road near his workplace, raising fears of a possible abduction.
Security operatives launched a search and began investigations into the disappearance.
The following morning, police received information that the missing dispatch officer had returned on his own.
He was found weak and taken to a hospital, where officers monitored his condition.
After treatment, the suspect claimed he had been kidnapped by three men and forced to trek through a forest.
He alleged his phone was stolen and money withdrawn from his bank account during captivity.
Further investigations, however, uncovered inconsistencies in his account, police said.
Officers established that the suspect had travelled to Abuja shortly after losing the money.
Police said he sold his mobile phone, stayed in a hotel and fabricated the kidnapping story.
Investigators revealed the suspect lost N1.3 million through online gambling over two days.
The funds reportedly belonged to his employer and a customer.
Police said the suspect has confessed and will be charged to court.
The Edo State Commissioner of Police warned against false distress reports.
He cautioned youths against reckless gambling, linking addiction to criminal behaviour.
