The Imo State Police Command has dismantled a notorious robbery syndicate, arresting five suspects and recovering 450 allegedly stolen motorcycles in a major operation.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Henry Okoye, announced the breakthrough at a news briefing in Owerri on Sunday. He said the operation targeted armed robbery, attempted murder, and vehicle snatching across the state.
Okoye paraded the suspects on behalf of the state Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso. He confirmed that operatives also recovered N6.4 million in cash and various number plates.
The operation was carried out by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, led by ACP Oladimeji Odeyeyiwa.
According to Okoye, the investigation began on 6 April after a commercial shuttle bus driver, Mr Paul Ohaka, was reported missing. He had left home for work on 5 April. The driver was later found unconscious at Irete, along the Onitsha Road axis, and his vehicle had been stolen by unknown assailants who attacked him, assumed he was dead, and fled.
The victim was taken to hospital, where he is receiving medical attention.
Detectives traced the stolen bus to a workshop in Orlu. In a coordinated operation, the vehicle was recovered just as suspects were allegedly preparing to repaint it to disguise its identity. Two suspects—Olagoke Jelili and Godday Ezike—were apprehended at the workshop.
Their detention led to the arrest of three additional gang members.
Okoye said the suspects attempted to bribe police with N5 million to evade justice, but operatives rejected the cash, upholding the command’s zero-tolerance policy on corruption.
Charms and other incriminating items were also seized from the gang’s hideouts. The suspects could not provide valid proof of ownership for the recovered motorcycles, which the syndicate had hidden in bushes.
Commissioner of Police Audu Bosso has ordered a full-scale prosecution of all those involved. “The command remains committed to ensuring criminal elements find no haven within the state,” Okoye added.
