Three Robbers Killed As Police Intercept 753 Ammunition In Ebonyi

 

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 sac while being transported in a commercial vehicle from Abakaliki, Ebonyi State to Umuahia in Abia State.

This was revealed in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba.

According to the statement, “the intelligence-driven covert operation, which led to the interception and recovery of the deadly ammunition, was part of efforts by the Force to identify and crackdown on criminal networks and supply chains for weapons and ammunition in and around the country.

He said that comprehensive investigations aimed at bringing to book all persons linked to the crime were in progress.

This came just as he said that following the investigations into the foiled bank robbery on the Onueke branch of a commercial bank in Ebonyi State which occurred in January, the police operatives have made a major breakthrough in the matter leading to the arrest of two members of the robbery gang at a shrine in Ebonyi State.

He explained that detectives led by the Commissioner of Police, Ebonyi State Command, stormed the criminal hideout of the suspects indicted in the investigations located at Oriuzo village in Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State last week Thursday and engaged the suspects in a fierce gun duel.

He said the suspects, on sighting the police squad, opened fire on them while the Police team engaged them gallantly and professionally.

He further explained that at the end, three members of the gang including two male and one female were killed following bullet injuries sustained during the exchange of gunfire as other suspects fled in different directions.

According to him, the following exhibits were recovered from the suspects, two AK-47 rifles, five pump action guns, six pistols, 50 AK-47 ammunition, 126 cartridges, jackknives, cutlasses, and a 40-page notebook containing inventories of ammunition purchased by the gang, and one Honda Pilot Jeep with Reg No. ABJ 163 NJ used for the foiled bank robbery.

He added that in a concerted effort to apprehend the remaining suspects, the Police team traced the suspects to a shrine where the robbers usually go for mystical powers before embarking on their robbery operations where two of the suspects were eventually arrested.

The FPRO assured efforts were ongoing to arrest other fleeing members of the gang and their spiritual godfather (the chief priest of the shrine).

According to him, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, while commending 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 country.