Delta: Police recover AK-47 rifles, ammunition from kidnappers’ hideout

Police in Ughelli, Delta State, have arrested a 45-year-old suspected kidnapper and armed robber, Shehu Malami, and recovered one AK-47 rifle.

Operatives of the CP Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT), acting on credible intelligence, accosted the suspect at Ogor Market, Ughelli, before leading them to his hideout in Agbarha-Otor, where the rifle and 63 rounds of live ammunition were recovered.

According to the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, on Saturday, preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is part of a kidnapping syndicate terrorising Ughelli, Agbarho, Sapele, Warri, and other areas in the state.

Edafe said efforts to arrest other members of the gang are ongoing.

Meanwhile, another AK-47 rifle, six rounds of live ammunition, and one Beretta pistol were on Saturday recovered in a bush near the Customs Checkpoint along the Benin–Asaba Expressway, Okpanam, near Asaba.

Following credible intelligence, Edafe said operatives of the Buffalo, Crack, and Operation Delta Shield (ODS) squads were mobilised to the scene, where the arms were recovered.

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Reacting to the recovery, the State Commissioner of Police, Yemi Oyeniyi, urged residents to monitor and report suspicious persons or movements in their environment promptly to the police, while assuring that their identities will be treated with utmost confidentiality.