Police rescue 22 kidnap victims, parade 72 suspects in Imo
The police in Imo State have rescued 22 kidnap victims and paraded 72 people suspected to be involved in the recent wave of criminalities in the state. The Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, said the suspects were arrested by operatives of Operation Puff Adder at different points in the state within the last six weeks. […]
FILE PHOTO: Police during the launch of “Operation Puff Adder” in Bauchi. Photos :Balarabe Alkassim, Bauchi
The police in Imo State have rescued 22 kidnap victims and paraded 72 people suspected to be involved in the recent wave of criminalities in the state.
The Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, said the suspects were arrested by operatives of Operation Puff Adder at different points in the state within the last six weeks.
Among those arrested was a suspected member of a gang of serial rapists, Stanley Ebere, who allegedly participated in the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl.
Ladodo said among those paraded were members of a notorious kidnap syndicate that specialized in the abduction of children at their homes, oftentimes in the dead of night.
The suspects: Chukwuemeka Onyebuchi, 43 and Aina Nwachukwu, 45, were arrested on a tip-off after they stole two children aged two and four, both of them female and from same parents at Umuobum in Ideato South Council Area of the state.
The CP said the police are on the trail of other fleeing members of the gang; while efforts are on to recover the stolen children.
He added that aside the 22 kidnap victims that were rescued, 11 stolen vehicles were also recovered within the time under review.