OWERRI, Nigeria — The Imo State Police Command has smashed a cross-border ammunition supply chain with the arrest of a suspected gun-runner from Rivers State who allegedly fuels the operations of violent kidnapping syndicates within Imo State.
Speaking to journalists during a press briefing on Friday, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, disclosed that the breakthrough followed the strategic interrogation of previously arrested kidnapping suspects. The detained syndicate members reportedly cracked under questioning and confessed to investigators, pointing directly to the Rivers State suspect as their primary source of ammunition.
In a parallel tactical breakthrough, the police chief announced the arrest of two high-profile kidnapping kingpins identified as Confidence Vitalis, 28, a native of Ukugba, Egbema in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, and Ishiaya Rejoice, 32, from Emuoha in Rivers State.
The duo was apprehended during a high-stakes follow-up raid launched by police operatives on a terrorists’ and kidnappers’ enclave buried deep within the treacherous Egbema River creek. The precision strike also resulted in the successful rescue of an abducted victim held captive at the camp.
“Intelligence obtained from the rescue operation led to the subsequent arrest of the kingpins, and their confessional statements led operatives to the suspects’ hideout, culminating in the latest operation,” CP Bosso explained.
A search of the criminal fortress yielded a lethal arsenal and ritual items. “During the operation, the Command recovered one AK-47 rifle, four AK-47 magazines, sixteen rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, three locally made cut-to-size guns, sixteen live cartridges, one empty Beretta magazine, twenty rounds of GPMG ammunition, one human skull, and assorted criminal charms,” Bosso stated.
Deeper forensic investigations have linked the busted gang to recent bloody assaults on state security architecture. Police files established that this specific criminal network was responsible for the recent killing of two personnel attached to the Imo State Homeland Security. The officers were murdered at Umuguma in the Owerri West Local Government Area during a foiled attempt by the syndicate to kidnap a prominent citizen, Mrs. Betty Oluchi Dike.
In a separate but related operation, police operatives acting on actionable intelligence invaded the Obiakpu swamps in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area, discovering a massive arms dump.
“Operatives of the Imo State Police Command stormed the Obiakpu swamps in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area, where they recovered an additional cache of 346 rounds of live ammunition, comprising 122 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 148 rounds of M16 rifle ammunition, and 76 rounds of 9mm Beretta pistol ammunition,” the CP revealed. Seven high-capacity magazines—consisting of four AK-47 rifle magazines and three M16 rifle magazines—were also pulled from the swampy cache.
The police command confirmed that aggressive manhunts and follow-up investigations are actively ongoing to track down and apprehend other fleeing remnants of the syndicates.
