The operatives of the Nigeria Police Force attached to the Ebonyi State Police Command have intercepted 753 live ammunition of General-Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) concealed in a sack being transported in a commercial vehicle from Abakaliki, Ebonyi State to Umuahia in Abia State.
The intelligence-driven covert operation, which led to the interception and recovery of the deadly ammunition, is part of efforts by the Force to identify and the crackdown on criminal networks and supply chains for weapons and ammunition in and around the country, noting that comprehensive investigations aimed at bringing to book all persons linked to the crime are ongoing.
A statement by Force PRO, CP, Frank Mba said in a related development following investigations into the foiled bank robbery on the Onueke branch of a commercial bank in Ebonyi State which occurred on Tuesday, 27th April 2021; Police operatives led by the Commissioner of Police, Ebonyi State Command, on 29th April 2021, stormed the criminal hideout of suspects indicted in the investigations located at Oriuzo village in Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
He said the suspects on sighting the Police squad opened fire on them, while the Police team engaged them gallantly and professionally, stressing that in the end, three (3) members of the gang including two (2) males and one (1) female met their waterloo following bullet injuries sustained during the exchange of gunfire. Other suspects fled in different directions.
Items recovered from them include two (2) Ak47 rifles, five (5) pump action guns, six (6) pistols, fifty (50) Ak47 ammunition, one hundred and twenty-six (126) cartridges, Jack knives, cutlasses, and a 40-page notebook containing inventories of ammunition purchased by the gang were recovered. A Honda Pilot Jeep with Reg No. ABJ 163 NV used for the foiled bank robbery was also recovered by the Police Team.
Unrelenting in their quest to apprehend the remaining suspects, Mba added the Police team traced the suspects to a shrine where the robbers usually go for mystical powers before embarking on their robbery operations.
He said two (2) of the suspects were eventually arrested from the supposedly safe haven – the shrine, which led to the arrest of an additional three (3) members of the gang. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to arrest other fleeing members of the gang and their spiritual godfather – the chief priest of the shrine.
The Force PRO noted that the Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Usman Alkali Baba, however, commended the Commissioner of Police, Ebonyi State Police Command, CP Aliyu Garba, and officers of the command, for excellently harnessing intelligence to nip the crimes in the bud, assured citizens of the renewed commitment of the Force to improving public safety and combating all forms of violent crimes across the land.
