YENAGOA, Nigeria (REUTERS) - Gunmen have snatched three Dutch nationals in Nigeria's volatile Niger Delta region, where armed kidnapping rings frequently operate, police said on Monday.

The Dutch nationals, two men and a woman, were abducted from Bayelsa state on Sunday, police spokesman Alex Akhighe said.

The kidnapping of expatriates by armed gangs seeking ransom money has been rife in the oil-producing Delta region, although it has tailed off in recent years as foreign companies have improved their security.