The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a suspected officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and two other persons over alleged involvement in armed robbery and cult-related activities in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area of the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Awka, noting that the arrests followed a targeted operation based on credible intelligence.
Ikenga said operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, stormed a suspected criminal hideout in Ogidi on March 21 at about 1:46 p.m., leading to the apprehension of the three suspects.
He identified the suspects as Francis Anene, 46; Emmanuel Obi, 29; and Okoye Chinonso, 35, adding that one of them allegedly posed as a serving member of a security agency.
Items recovered from the suspects, according to him, included two locally made Beretta pistols, four rounds of live 9mm ammunition and a suspected fake security identity card.
The police spokesman said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were members of a criminal syndicate allegedly involved in armed robbery, kidnapping and terrorising residents of Ogidi and neighbouring communities.
He added that the suspects were also being investigated for possible involvement in the killing of the President-General of Ogidi.
In a separate development, Ikenga said police operatives attached to the Ozubulu Division recovered a suspected stolen white petrol tanker along the Onitsha/Owerri Expressway in the early hours of March 17.
He explained that the tanker, found without a registration number and with its key still in the ignition, was believed to have been abandoned by an unidentified individual.
“The command has commenced investigation to trace the owner of the tanker and unravel the circumstances surrounding its abandonment,” he said.
Ikenga noted that investigations into both incidents were ongoing.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ikioye Orutugu, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to ensuring the safety of lives and property.
He urged residents to support security agencies with timely and credible information to aid crime prevention and enforcement efforts.
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