The Police Command in Rivers has arrested 33 suspects and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition in a series of coordinated operations across the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, disclosed this on Thursday during a news conference in Port Harcourt, while highlighting the command’s recent breakthroughs in combating violent crime.
Adepoju said the command achieved the feat in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Department of State Services, among others.
He explained that the joint operations conducted between January and August led to the arrest of the suspects who were allegedly involved in armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, human trafficking, and murder.
According to him, exhibits recovered from the suspects include 66 locally made guns, 34 pump-action guns, 21 AK-47 rifles, 10 English-made pistols, and two GMP guns.
“We also recovered two Scorpion sub-machine guns, two Dane guns, 8,000 rounds of live ammunition, 15 conventional rounds, 67 cartridges, four magazines, eight explosives, and 115 stolen vehicles.”
Providing details of some of the operations, the police commissioner explained that seven suspected cultists linked to the July 6 murder of a lawyer, Bright Owhor, in his home in Port Harcourt were among the suspects.
He said Owhor’s killers murdered the victim in cold blood before stealing large sums of money from him, adding that the suspects were also linked to several cult-related violent crimes in state.
“Items recovered from them include an MTN sim card, four locally made pistols, seven rounds of 9mm ammunition, two live cartridges, one minibus, and a Toyota Camry,” he said.
Adepoju further disclosed that 12 suspected vandals were arrested at an oil-spilled well in Kpean community, where three explosive dynamites were recovered during the Aug. 10 operation.
