By Godwin-Maria Utuedoye
Barely weeks of assumption of office, and following reported cases of kidnapping, armed robbery in various parts of the state, the Delta State Police Commissioner, Wale Abass, and operatives of the command has taken a stern fight against criminality which has yielded breakthrough .
CP Wale Abass on assumption of duty quickly identified the ugly trend of kidnapping, robbery and other criminal activities as a major security challenge in the state,and then detailed an intelligence unit of the Command to embark on a discreet and an intelligence led operation.
The Commander Decoy Squad, ASP Julius Robinson, led operatives of the squad, and relocated to Sapele, on a covert operation while acting on credible intelligence gathered within Sapele and surrounding communities.
Their intelligence however paid off with the arrest of one Nyero Sunday ‘m’ (29), of Okwitolo Community alongside eight others, all in Okpe LGA, Delta State. All arrested suspects have confessed to their involvements in numerous kidnapping/armed robbery operations, and also admitted to terrorizing the Sapele-Warri road.
Further investigation led to the arrest of one Umar Bello ‘m’ (33) from Sokoto State, but resides in Warri. He is said to be receiving stolen phones and other valuables robbed from victims of the suspects.
A Toyota Corolla with Reg. No. WWR 353 LS, a locally made cut-to-size single barrel pistol, Eleven (11) rounds of live cartridges, were recovered from the syndicate. Effort is on to arrest other fleeing members of the criminal gang.
Also on May 15, 2023, at about 0015hrs, while police operatives of ‘B’ division Warri, led by the DPO SP Bolarinwa Alabi were on visibility/confidence building patrol along Airport road, they sighted a tricycle with three (3) male occupants, and in their usual way, flagged down the tricycle, but the rider on sighting the Police maneuver in a bid to escape, the operatives went after them until they eventually abandoned the tricycle and took to their heels. One of the suspects, named Nworie Emmanuel ‘m’ 20, was arrested and taken to the police station. During interrogation, the su@spect stated that he is a member of a three man gang of armed robbers who uses a tricycle to rob innocent people of their belongings along the airport road in Warri.
He also confessed that they have robbed two persons same day along the airport road and that the phone robbed was with Abdul, one of their fleeing gang members and that their modus operandi is to look out for their victims standing at a lonely road at night, and Abdul (currently at large) will jump down from the tricycle, use the knife to threaten their victim and rob them of their phones and other valuable.
The tricycle, the knife they use to scare their victims are in custody alongside the suspect while effort is on to arrest the other fleeing members of the gang.
Similarly, the Command crack squad on May 16, 2023, raided a criminal black spot located around Osuani in Patani LGA, and arrested one Priscillia Amor ‘f’ (35), and recovered Twenty-six wraps of weed suspected to be Indian hemp, Nineteen wraps of substance suspected to be Methamphetamine, Eight packets of razlers, some mobile phones and other exhibits. Investigation is ongoing to arrest her other gang.members.