Police Apprehends 41 For Armed Robbery, Kidnapping In Rivers

The River State Police Command has disclosed on Wednesday that it has apprehended 41 suspects for various criminal offences.

Mr Zaki Ahmed, the state Police Commissioner, made this known while fielding questions from newsmen in Port Harcourt.

Ahmed disclosed that three suspects were being held for cult activities, 14 for armed robbery, while 11 were arrested for kidnapping.

The police boss said that eight vehicles, two AK47 assault rifles and three pump action guns were also recovered from the suspects.

17 locally made pistols, 52 rounds of ammunition, 52 live cartridges and three double barrel guns were also recovered during the various arrests.

“It has not been easy with us as we have had to battle these hoodlums on all fronts.

“We deployed all the resources at our disposal to tackle the menace of cultism which has been a major challenge,” he said.

He added that a cultist group, Iceland, kidnapped a 72-year-old retired army officer, Moses Walter, in Ahoada, Ahoada Local Government Area.

Ahmed stated that the command was winning the battle against criminality in the state and would not rest on its oars.

The commissioner, who added that the command had intensified patrols, as well as “, stop and search operations,’’ appealed to residents to cooperate with the command.

He added that the Police was smoking out criminals from their hideout.

He also asserted that “stop and search’’ operations remained one the means of foiling crimes in the society.

Ahmed, who said most of the suspects had confessed to the crimes, gave an assurance that they would soon be arraigned after investigations were concluded.