Operatives of the Delta State Police have killed a suspected kidnapper during a gun duel in a Delta community.
The operation, which also led to the arrest of three other suspects, resulted in the recovery of an arsenal of deadly weapons.
The Police Public Relations Officer for Delta State Command, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement released in Warri on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the incident occurred on August 12, 2024, when the CP Special Squad, based in Ughelli, embarked on an investigation with a previously apprehended suspect, Joel Ofoye.
The investigation led them to the Ewu community in Ughelli South LGA, in pursuit of a notorious gunrunner supplying arms to the kidnapping syndicate.
“While the operatives were on the trail, they came under heavy attack by the suspect’s gang members, who attempted to free Joel Ochuko,” the statement read.
However, the police forced the hoodlums to flee during a gun battle.
The statement added that the injured suspect was promptly taken to the General Hospital in Ughelli but succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment.
A cache of weapons, including a Beretta pistol with four rounds of live ammunition, a pump-action shotgun with nine cartridges, and a locally fabricated revolver, was recovered from the gang.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the police said it has intensified its crackdown on a kidnapping syndicate following the abduction of a 29-year-old victim in Kokori Community, Ethiope East LGA, on February 17, 2024.
The victim, whose identity is withheld, was kidnapped at his residence in Sapele and had N5 million transferred from his bank account by the kidnappers.
Upon regaining his freedom, the victim reported the incident to the police command.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, ordered a thorough investigation.
Acting on intelligence provided by the victim, the CP’s Special Squad, led by ASP Julius Robinson, launched a raid on the hideout of one of the syndicate’s key members, know as “Sapiro,” in Sapele.
A search of the apartment yielded the recovery of another Beretta pistol.
The squad also arrested key members of the syndicate, including Tony Binitie, a.k.a. ‘Bobo,’ the gang leader from Big-Warri Community in Warri South LGA; Ejiro Ewuba, a native of Uwelogbo Community in Isoko LGA but residing in Sapele; and Ayuba Hussaini, a resident of Hausa Quarters, Sapele, who was the receiver of the victim’s stolen valuables.
Hussaini was also found to have received N1 million transferred from the victim’s account.
The suspects have since confessed to their crimes.