Why I lure ladies to hotel, drug, rape them’

TRACKING >>A 25-year-old man, Godwin David, has told his interrogators how he used to prowl social media dating sites to lure ladies to hotel, before drugging and raping them. David was arrested by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT), led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abba Kyari. The suspect was arrested in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Police said that the suspect had been in the business of luring women he interacted with on social media dating sites to hotels in Abuja, before pouncing on them.

A police source said: “His modus operandi is to invite them to any hotel of his choice. When they arrive, he would offer them drinks, which he would lace with a sleep-inducing drug. When his victim sleeps off, he would rape, steal her mobile phones, cash and other valuable and then disappear.” The source disclosed that David ran into stormy waters after a 26-year-old woman, who he met on a social media dating site and invited to a hotel in Yanyah area of the FCT, reported him to the IRT Unit.

“The suspect met the woman on a social media and opened a conversation with her. He later invited her to a hotel. She only accepted to meet him at the hotel after he agreed to pay her N15,000 per night. But a few minutes into their lodging in the hotel, David drugged her drink and while she was asleep, he stole N25,000 in her purse. He also stole her mobile phone valued at N125,000, after which he disconnected the hotel room intercom and bolted,” the source added.

When the woman woke up and discovered what had happened to her, she reported the matter to the police. She was advised to calm down. IRT operatives, who were instructed to investigate the case, got the name of the dating site and went undercover to pose as females.

They uploaded pictures and profiles of women, indicating that they were interested in men resident in Abuja. It was only a matter of time for one of the profiles to catch their target. After weeks of prowling the site, David connected to one of the undercover operatives’ profile, using the same modus operandi that he had used for his previous preys. He invited the operative to a hotel and also gave him a room number. He was relaxing in his room, waiting for his supposed new prey, when the IRT operatives knocked, walked in and arrested him.

While fielding questions from the operatives, David explained that he went into the business of drugging and stealing from women because he couldn’t secure a decent job. He disclosed that he uses an illicit drug known as Rohypnol, to sedate his victims. David led the operatives to Gwagalada area of Abuja where the drug peddler selling the drugs for him was arrested. David said: “I have no job. I was formerly working at Gwagalada Area Council as a seals boy; but I lost my job in April 2019.

While I was still working, I met one Musa who introduced me to drugs. I started using Rohypnol for sleeping. When I lost my job I visited a dating site known as ‘Inmassage.’ It was there I met some ladies and decided to start luring them to hotels, where I drugged and robbed them. “I met a lady who resides at Area 8, Abuja, and I lied to her that I reside in Yanyah.

We bargained for N15,000 and she came to meet me in a hotel at Yanyah. I bought her Indian hemp, and then I also bought ‘bitter’ drinks for her, which I laced with Rohypnol. A few minutes later, she slept off. I stole her two phones and N25,000.

This incident occurred on June 26, 2016. I reformatted the phones and then went to Musa, who introduced me to the drug; I sold the phones to him and spent the money. “In July, I also met another lady, who I lured to Yanyah, but at a different hotel, but unknown to me she was a sister to the lady, who I had robbed previously. But while I was about robbing her, I was arrested. I also didn’t know that the lady I robbed first had reported me to the IRT. They were around the hotel; when I took the girl into the room, they arrested me.”