Police Arrests Six Members Of Kidnap And Armed Robbery Syndicate, Recovers Weapon In Delta

Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have successfully apprehended six individuals involved in a notorious kidnap and armed robbery syndicate. As a result of the operation, law enforcement authorities were able to recover a locally made single barrel gun.

The arrest was made known by the spokesperson of the command, DSP Bright Edafe, in a statement released on Sunday, June 4, 2023.

According to the statement, the suspects targeted and abducted a couple in Udu Local Government Area of the state. They subsequently transported the victims to an undisclosed location, where they coerced the man into emptying his bank account through a series of transfers.

The statement read, “On 15/5/2023, a victim (name withheld) of kidnapping/armed robbery reported at Ovwian Aladja Police station that he was intercepted by some suspected kidnappers who abducted him and his wife and put them in the trunk of their car, drove them to an unknown destination, where they emptied his bank account through bank transfer before releasing them.”

During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that a similar incident had been reported on April 7, 2023, involving another victim. Strikingly, the suspects employed identical methods in both cases.

Prompted by these resemblances, the DPO of Ovwian Aladja division, CSP Aliyu Shaba, ordered his detectives to launch a discreet and intelligence-led operation to ensure the arrest of the culprits and bring them to justice.

Through a series of intelligence-led investigations, the detectives were able to apprehend a point-of-sale (POS) operator whose account the criminals frequently used to transfer money from their victims’ accounts.

The POS operator, who claimed to be unaware of the suspects’ criminal activities, cooperated with the police and provided valuable information that led to the arrest of the gang leader, Adim Lucky Onweiyali, a 33-year-old male, on June 1, 2023.

Acting on information provided by the gang leader, the police conducted raids on the residences of other members of the syndicate.

Additionally, they discovered a house belonging to Akporido Stanley, a 56-year-old male, who was found to be harboring the recovered weapon—an illicit, locally made gun—and three live cartridges.

All the arrested suspects are currently in custody, and further investigations are underway. The Delta State Police Command is determined to dismantle this criminal network and ensure that justice is served.