Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudi Dumeme Onuamadike aka Evans, did not only go for rich victims, he also lived and operated in a class of his own. He was able to dodge the police dragnet for many years because he had the penchant for using luxury phones. A police source told New Telegraph yesterday that investigators had discovered, among Evans’ array of expensive phones, two Slim Vertu phones and a Thuraya.
The first Vertu phone is said to worth N2.6 million, while the second is valued at N2.4 million. The Thuraya is also said to worth N800,000. According to the source, the Vertu and Thuraya phones made it impossible for the security agents to track him.
Thuraya in particular uses satellite services. Another police source said that investigators had traced additional 36 phone lines to Evans, after earlier narrowing down to 126.
This brings the suspect’s phone lines, which he used for operation, to 162. It was learnt that it took experts days before they could decode the workings of the suspect’s phones. But of all his lines, Evans, according to the source, had a dedicated line, which he used to call four persons said to be close to his heart.
They are his friend, sister, mother and favourite mistress, Amaka. Amaka was the wife of one of Evans’ lieutenants. Another suspect, Nwosu Chikodi Chukwuma aka Skudo, told investigators that Evans murdered Amaka’s husband and turned the woman to his mistress.
But when Evans was asked, he denied the allegation. Although he had four mistresses, Amaka, who already had children for her late husband, was the only mistress he calls on the dedicated phone line. Evans told police that the Thuraya phone was his preferred phone for usage during negotiations for ransom.
Detectives revealed that the phone is the type used by the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau and other terrorists to evade tracking and arrest. A police source: “The Thuraya phone can’t be tracked. It can get signal anywhere, either under the sea or in the jungle. It works with satellite and it doesn’t make use of SIM card.”
On Wednesday, the New Telegraph went Evans’ family home in Nnewi, Anabra State, where his mother, Mrs. Chinwe Onwuamadike, was said to be living. But her brother, Daniel Nwosu, claimed he did not know her whereabouts.
But yesterday, a police source disclosed that they tracked Chinwe to Bayelsa State.
The source noted that the woman bolted to Bayelsa State after hearing about the arrest of her son. As police continue to dig out Evans’ criminal activities, they have discovered that his wife, also from Anambra State, is a sister to a kidnap kingpin, who had been killed. It was learnt that rocket launchers were found in the said kidnapper’s home while Anambra State government also demolished his building.
The officer in charge of the Inspector General of Police Special Response Team (IRT), Mr. Abba Kyari, who led in the hunt and arrest of Evans, said: “Evans almost got away with his crimes. No criminal has given me this kind of headache in my career.
Not even the case of Godogodo or Vampire. I hardly sleep. Even when I’m in the toilet, I would be analysing over 100 numbers, checking out those he had conversations with. What we have gathered is like a book now.
“But the case was a hard nut to crack until we found something interesting in one particular number. Out of the all the phone lines, it
