The Delta State Police Command has achieved a significant milestone in its fight against crime, arresting six suspected kidnappers and recovering over N2.3 million in ransom paid by their victims.
Commissioner of Police, CP Abaniwanda Olufemi, disclosed this while parading 16 suspects for various crimes. “We have achieved significant successes during the period under review, and we plan to increase police visibility and raid black spots and criminal hideouts across the 25 local government areas,” he said.
Olufemi explained that the breakthrough came when operatives from the Ebrumede Division intercepted a tricycle carrying six passengers. “Upon sighting the police, the suspects attempted to escape, but our operatives pursued and arrested them. A search revealed N2,344,000 in ransom money and some suspected stolen phones.”
He added, “Further investigation revealed that the phones belonged to kidnapping victims, and the money was part of the ransom paid for their release.”
The CP also revealed that the anti-kidnapping squad led a sting operation in the Umunede forest area, rescuing two people kidnapped along the Asaba-Benin Expressway. “We acted on credible information regarding the kidnapping. When the kidnappers realised we were closing in, they abandoned the victims and fled.”
Olufemi lamented the prevalence of hard drugs in the state, noting that the command’s Dragon Patrol team intercepted a 39-year-old man, Jammed Abdulahi Shola, driving a green Toyota vehicle. “A search of the vehicle uncovered 320 packs of codeine, 125 sachets of tramadol, and other hard drugs in large quantities.”
