A Nigerian street trader, David Ukpo, allegedly trafficked into the United Kingdom for organ harvesting walked into a police station and said he was “looking for someone to save my life”, a court has heard.
The 21-year-old, from Lagos, had been sleeping rough for three nights before he turned up at Staines Police Station in May last year pleading for help, the Old Bailey was told.
The young man is alleged to be the victim of a plot to harvest his kidney for a transplant procedure at the Royal Free Hospital in north London.
Jurors have seen a photograph of him smiling and sharing a meal with the alleged recipient, Sonia Ekweremadu, the 25-year-old daughter of senior Nigerian politician Ike Ekweremadu.
It is claimed that he was coached before meeting doctors in London and told to say that he was Ms Ekerewadu’s cousin when they were in fact not related.
The Old Bailey has heard that the proposed donor, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, ran away after doctors decided he was not a suitable candidate.
In body-worn footage shown in court on Tuesday, he appeared to be crying and distressed when he walked into the police station and spoke to a woman on reception.
He told the woman repeatedly he had “no papers” having been brought into the country by a man he met in Lagos.
He said: “He carried me to hospital to remove my kidneys. The doctor said I was too young but the man said if you do not do it here he would carry me back to Nigeria and do it there.”
On being told he was in Staines, he said: “I don’t know anywhere, I don’t know where I am. I was sleeping three days outside around, looking for someone to help me, save my life.”