Former DSS personnel, brother, 8 others arrested over bullion van robbery

A former personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS), Prosper Israel has been paraded, together with his younger brother and eight others, by the Abia State Police Command on Monday, over robbery of a bullion van in July.

During the robbery, a bank cash officer was killed and cash worth several millions of naira were carted away.

The former DSS operative, his younger brother, Mr Prosper Israel, Chinwendu Israel along with the eight others on the 26th July 2022, attacked the bullion van being escorted by the Police along Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway near Ntigha Junction in Isiala Ngwa North L.G.A of Abia State.

Parading the suspects at Abia State Police command headquarters in Umuahia, the state Commissioner of Police, CP Janet Agbede said the sum of 10,184,000.00 was recovered from the gang.

According to CP Agbede, the arrest of the suspects was after “a careful study of their modus operandi” after which the command set up a special Intelligence Technologically-Led Investigation Squad (ITLIS) mandated with a clear directive to arrest and recover weapons used by the deadly armed robbery gang.

”Other suspects arrested include Adesoji Adeniyi aka ‘Soji” (male) from Ondo state, resident and arrested in Lagos State, Nnamdi Nwaosu aka ‘Prophet’ from Rivers state, resident and arrested in Imo State and Nwachukwu Albert aka White (1st Armourer) from Delta state, resident and arrested in Lagos state.

”Others are, Felix Ajalaja from Ondo state, resident and arrested in Rivers state, Moshood Opeyemi aka Abiola from Osun state resident and arrested in Rivers state, Matthew Christmas aka Aluwa from Delta state, resident and arrested in Delta State, Azubuike Amaefula aka Zubby from Abia state, resident and arrested in Rivers state and Monday Samuel aka MD (2nd Armourer) from Delta state, resident and arrested in Ondo state”, the CP said.

According to the CP,  exhibits recovered from them include; one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) with 53 rounds of live ammunition, thirteen AK47 rifles with 1,749 live ammunition, two improvised explosive dynamite, one cut-to-size double barrel gun with 5 live cartridges, and eighty-four (84) AK47 magazines.

Other exhibits, she said include Mercedes Benz mini truck they used in concealing their firearms and cash of ten million, one hundred and eighty-four thousand naira (N10,184,000.00) only.

 “All the above-mentioned suspects in their individual voluntary statements confessed belonging to a 14-man awful armed robbery gang with a speciality in bullion van attacks and that for about two months before the attack, the Bullion van had been under their surveillance”, the CP further said.

She advised parents, Guardians, husbands, wives and children to always know the sources of one another’s livelihood.

Prosper Israel confessed to the crime, stating that he was dismissed from DSS in 2007 after his service at Government House, Umuahia Abia State ended in 2007.