Abia Police command apprehends hijack syndicate, transformer vandals

The Abia Police command has said that the robust crime prevention strategies put in place in the State is paying-off. This is following the arrest of car snatchers, truck hijack syndicate, transformer vandals, among other criminals in just one week.

 Leye Oyebade, Abia Police commissioner, while parading some of the suspects at the Aba Area Command, explained that the truck hijackers were arrested following a distress call, intercepted from its control room in Umuahia.

He stated that the command on September 26, 2016 intercepted a distress call from its control room in Umuahia that a Mercedes Benz truck  with registration number-SR 511 XA with a green head and white body, conveying pharmaceutical products from Lagos to some States in the South-East region, was snatched at gun point and directed to an unknown place.

He said on receipt of the information, the Aba area command was contacted and immediately mobilized patrol teams from the Abayi district police office, anti-robbery and dragon, assisted by a tracking device, which led to the recovery of the truck at Umuojima area of Aba, where the suspect were off-loading  the contents into another truck without registration number.

He stated that the suspected hijackers were also rounded up by the patrol team  and brought  to the station, where investigation is ongoing.

Those arrested are Joseph Iro, Emeka Iro, Okechukwu Nlewem and Damian Okuta.

Also paraded were one Chijioke Chika and Williams Patrick, transformer vandals, who were caught in the act in Bende, Bende Local Government Area of the State. The suspect s according the  Abia Police Commissioner, were arrested on September 28, 2016 by the Bende Division, while vandalizing Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC)transformer at Umueche Bende sub-station.

Items recovered from the suspect according to the Police Commissioner, include EEDC cables and two special knives. He stated that the suspects have confessed to the crime and would soon be arraigned in court.   

The commissioner stated also that its intelligence policing strategy worked effectively when its patrol team from Ugwunagbo police station on September 28, 2016, intercepted a Volkswagen Gulf 3 car with registration number-FW 820 ABC with two occupants at Ngwaiyiekwe, along PortHarcourt-Aba expressway.

On sighting the Police, he said the occupants abandoned the car and ran into the bush, and the team went after them and arrested one Onyedikachi Onwudibe of Obigbo in Portharcourt, who could not give satisfactory evidence on how he came about the vehicle during interrogation.

The command also recovered a Toyota Camry with registration number-Lagos AAA 196 AP that was abandoned at Umuokoroato village in Obingwa LGA. The commissioner said they are making efforts to locate the owner of the said vehicle.