Seven suspected criminals, including a car-snatching syndicate and robbers, have been arrested in various parts of Port Harcourt and its environs by the Rivers State Police Command.
According to The Punch, two of the suspected criminals raped a pregnant woman during one of their operations.
This was disclosed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement on Monday.
Iringe-Koko said notable among the cases was the arrest of two suspects, Saviour Gbarale, 24, and Onyedikachi Uhala, 18, on Etche Street in Borikiri, Port Harcourt, by operatives of the C4i Intelligence Unit of the command.
The statement read, “The suspects specialise in housebreaking and have been linked to series of recent armed robberies in the Port Harcourt metropolis and its environs.
“Investigations also revealed that the suspects raped and sexually abused a pregnant woman in the cause of their nefarious operations.
“Similarly, on July 24, 2022, operatives of C4i Intelligence Unit, while on a routine anti-crime patrol along Eleme Road Junction, ran into a gang of armed robbers.
“The police operatives engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel. The duo was subdued by police superior firepower. One Victor Okona, 23, and Onuoha John Odinaka, aka Precious, 22, of Farm Road, Eleme Junction, were arrested, while others escaped with varying degrees of injury.”
She said one American revolver with breech no. 134581 and a motorbike were recovered from the suspects.
Also, she said operatives smashed a car-snatching syndicate following recent complaints by members of the public.
“The suspects, Gladstone Anderson, 22; Emmanuel Hezekiah, 26; and Chika Obiorah, 29; were arrested along Amaechi Drive in the Obio/Akpor LGA.
“On interrogation, the suspects were found to be members of a notorious syndicate that specialises in snatching cars from innocent victims particularly Bolt/Uber drivers in and around Sani Abacha/Casablanca in GRA, Port Harcourt.
“They use jackknives to threaten their victims and rope to strangle their victims in case of any resistance. One Toyota Corolla with number plate, AAH 382 RM, ash colour, was recovered from them,” the statement added.
The statement added that an abandoned Honda Odyssey bus, without a number plate, was recovered when policemen of the anti-cultism unit, who were on a patrol at Tele, Sogo, in Tai LGA, chased a vehicle with six occupants, who fled.
“A search of the car led to the discovery of four PVCs, bags of a substance suspected to be cannabis, one jackknife, one plier, machetes, face masks, among others, inside in the abandoned vehicle,” the PPRO said.
