CRIME NEWS

Police arrest car thieves, recover stolen vehicles

Ogbonnaya Ikokwu


OPERATIVES of the Abia Police Command have arrested two suspected car thieves and recovered two vehicles allegedly stolen by them.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ezekiel Onyeke, said the command was investigating a 32-year-old Ihechin Nathaniel Wilson of No. 4 Agolawa Street in Aba and another 22-year-old Samson of Oloha in Dankina LGA of Kogi State for allegedly snatching a Suzuki Grand Vitra with registration number LSD 723 DF, which was recovered by the police.
Onyeke said the recovery and arrest followed information received from River State that the vehicle and its driver were missing.
The driver, Augustine Nwanna, was reportedly sent on an errand with the vehicle by his employers, C and I Leasing Company Port-Harcourt on December 7, 2015, but he never returned.
It was gathered that the vehicle was tracked to Aba in Abia State. Police officers attached to the 55 Police Mobile Force Squadron, Aba, went after the vehicle, recovered it from a mechanic workshop and arrested the suspects who were in the process of dislodging the tracking device of the vehicle.
Both suspects however claimed they did not know about the theft of the vehicle the whereabouts of the driver.
Meanwhile, the State Police Command has recovered an AK-47 rifle with 59 rounds of live ammunition. The recovery followed suspicion by a police patrol team from Ndiegoro Division, which led to the flagging down of a green colored Toyota Camry with registration number MUS 963 DT along Ngwa road in Aba.
It was learnt that as soon as the vehicle was flagged down for routine checks, the four male occupants of the vehicle came down and ran into a crowded area, thereby making it difficult for the police to arrest them.
Onyeke disclosed that when police searched the vehicle, an AK-47 rifle marked RP 0279 with two magazines containing 59 rounds of live ammunition was recovered.
“The police are currently on the trail of the fleeing hoodlums and we are appealing to members of the public for information that can lead to the arrest of the suspects,” he said.
Meanwhile, the command has reiterated its preparedness to secure both property and the lives of Abia citizens while the Yuletide festivities last.
The command assure the state that its men and officers would not leave any stone unturned in its effort to carry out adequate policing for the people of the state and their visitors.
Onyeke said, “For every ember period, the police have master plan, which we call operational plan. The master plan is usually initiated at the police headquarters in Abuja and it is replicated at the zonal headquarters, the state headquarters, and the area command headquarters and even in some divisions.
He said, “We have adopted an operation plan, which is designed after the fallout of a crime mapping of Abia State. Abia State has crime map by the police; we know where we have predominant cases of certain crimes such as car theft, kidnapping, human trafficking, arm robbery.
The whole State has been crime-mapped and officers and logistics have been deployed to areas where they are most needed with specific instructions on how to go about their duties and so it is yielding positive result.”
[Punch]