Gombe State Police Command has burst a gang of cattle rustlers operating in the state and recovered a total of 483 cattle.
The fleeing rustlers also abandoned186 sheep and ram, 3 Donkeys, 2 Bajaj boxers motorcycles, 2 Honda motorcycles, 7 Tecno Handsets, 1 Max phone, and 1 Foxkong phone, while the sum of N994, 000.00 was found in their possession.
The disclosure was made by the State Commissioner of Police, Ishola Babaita while briefing Journalists at the Command headquarters in Gombe.
According to him, in continuation with the avowed determination of the Command to further stem the tide of crime and ensure that criminals do not gain a foothold in Gombe State, the Command over the weekend was very proactive and recorded tremendous success.
He said that based on credible intelligence that suspected cattle rustlers have rustled over 500 cows from Plateau, Bauchi and Taraba States in large numbers and heading towards Gombe through the Bauchi axis, Police tactical teams in collaboration with vigilante groups and local hunters, mobilized and trailed the rustlers where they were intercepted around Kalmai junction in Billiri LGA of Gombe State.
The Commissioner of Police added that as soon as the suspects sighted the Police, some of them fled in disarray on their motorbikes and abandoned the rustled cows.
“However, the tenancy of the tactical teams paid off and 18 suspects were arrested. During a painstaking search of their luggage, the following exhibits were recovered: 2 AK-47 rifles, 1 AK-49 rifle, 320 rounds of live ammunition, 14 empty magazines, and 3 cutlasses”, Ishola Babaita added.
He said that the rustled animals are under the custody of the DPO of Billiri Division pending completion of investigation before releasing them to their owners who have already started coming for identification.
The Commissioner added that the case has been transferred to the State CID for discreet investigation and prosecution.
“I want to further reassure the public that the Command under my watch will relentlessly continue to pursue the criminals from all nooks and crannies of the State and will not give them room to hibernate”, he added.
The Command then assured all the peace-loving people of Gombe State that the Police in Gombe will continue to strive for better service delivery in the performance of its constitutional responsibilities of the protection of lives and properties, maintenance of law and order, investigation and prosecution of offenders.