Samuel Oyadongha
18 October 2012, Sweetcrude, Yenagoa – The Bayelsa State police command have arrested 24 suspected criminals for various offences ranging from gun running, armed robbery, murder, illegal possession of arms and cultism in the state.
Parading the suspects at the command headquarters, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kingsley Omire said they were nabbed in separate raids carried out in Yenagoa and its environs by men of the command.
Among those nabbed, the state police boss said, were members of a five man robbery gang who specializes in robbing bureau de change operators in the state capital.
The hoodlums, he said, had gone to rob Rahama Bureau De Change on Aretalin Street at the Ovom suburb of Yenagoa when luck ran out on them as they were nabbed by men of the State Anti-Robbery Squad following a tip off by members of the public.
According to him, items recovered from the gang members include foreign currencies such as dollars, pound sterling, euros, and naira. Others include two locally made pistols with one AA expended cartridge, Mazda car with registration number DEC 105 XA, two police belts, one army belt, one 14″ television, one 21″ television, one compact disc player, assorted wears and a pair of shoes.
The state police boss further disclosed that his men who posed as ram dealers and in need of guns to protect their livestock succeeded in smashing a two man gang involved in gun running.
He said his men trailed the suspects to Ekowe and Korokorosei communities respectively in an operation led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (SCID). One G3 rifle with 83 rounds 7.62 live ammunition were recovered from the suspects.
The police commissioner also disclosed that a notorious cultist allegedly involved in the killing of two men at Azikoro village two months’ ago had been arrested.
Omire who reiterated the determination of his command to rid the state of criminal elements said the police was able to record the recent successes because of the information given by some Bayelsans and solicited the cooperation of the general public in making the state a safe haven for the business community and resdents.
