By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Chucks, Delta
The Delta State Police Command says it has dealt heavy blows to criminal syndicates operating in the state, arresting several suspected kidnappers and recovering over four million naira in ransom payments, arms, and ammunition in coordinated raids across different locations within and outside the state.
Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, disclosed this during a press briefing in Asaba on Wednesday, highlighting what he described as “strategic gains in the ongoing war against kidnapping and violent crime.”
“Our operatives have intensified intelligence-led operations and the results speak for themselves,” Abaniwonda said. “In the past week alone, we have arrested notorious kidnapping suspects, dismantled hideouts, and recovered large sums paid as ransom along with sophisticated firearms.”
On May 12, operatives of the Dragon Patrol Team, during a stop-and-search operation along the Kwale/Ozoro expressway, intercepted a Toyota Sienna bus loaded with passengers. A search revealed the sum of N3.1 million concealed by four male suspects — Abubakar Alwalu (25), Usman Husseini (25), Adamu Mohammed (30), and Anwalu Umaru (23). Preliminary investigation linked them to the kidnap of a woman in Ughelli, who identified the men as her abductors. The police believe the money was part of a N4 million ransom paid just days earlier.
In a separate operation on May 10, operatives of the CP’s Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT) arrested one Abdullahi Ibrahim, aged 22, a suspected gang leader, in Ore, Ondo State. He later led officers to the arrest of an accomplice, Adamu Usman (24), and the recovery of an AK-47 rifle with 14 rounds of live ammunition, a locally made long gun, and six cartridges from a forest hideout near the Ore-Lagos expressway.
On May 12, another breakthrough was recorded when the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Squad tracked a kidnapping suspect, Lawal Tasiu (26), to Koka Junction in Asaba. He was arrested after a chase and found with N900,000. According to police, the money was part of a ransom collected in the kidnap of a man in Itego, Ibusa. Further investigations led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle, pump action gun, two magazines, and 87 rounds of ammunition from a hideout in Issele-Azagba.
Also notable was the arrest of a suspected child trafficker, Joy Temitope Oyetimi (49), who allegedly stole a two-month-old baby in Warri after drugging the child’s mother during a trip in February. Following a report at Ekpan Police Station, officers traced and arrested the suspect. The child, now five months old, has been rescued and reunited with his parents.
CP Abaniwonda assured residents that the command will not relent in its mission to make Delta State safer.
“We are committed to restoring peace in every corner of the state. Let this serve as a warning to criminal elements — their days are numbered,” he said.