The Akwa Ibom State Police Command says it has arrested a three-man armed robbery syndicate suspected to be responsible for a series of early morning robberies within the Uyo metropolitan area.
The command Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday said the syndicate was arrested following a diligent investigation and intelligence-led operation.
She said a 32-year-old female resident of Sampson Akpan Street, Uyo, had on August 12 reported to the police that while on a morning walk along Believers Assembly Road by Udo Udoma Avenue, she was accosted by two armed men on a black motorcycle.
The suspects were said to have pointed a locally-made pistol at her, threatened her life, and robbed her of an iPhone 12 Pro valued at N650,000.
She added, “Further investigation revealed that this same criminal syndicate had robbed at least five other citizens on the same date and was responsible for multiple armed robberies during early morning hours in the city.
Through discreet investigations, Operatives of the Command successfully arrested one Ubong Michael Patrick, a 27-year-old indigene of Ikpa Ibiono community in Ibiono Ibom LGA.
During interrogation, he confessed to the crime and led the police to arrest two other members of the gang: one Ibrahim Kanu, 20yrs, a native of Gorore community in Adamawa State, and Nazipi Dahiru, 25yrs, a native of Gombe State. Both men are residents of ‘Nasarawa’, a community in Itam, Itu LGA.’
The PPRO listed the items recovered to include: One black operational motorcycle, one locally-made pistol, One long dagger knife.
She said preliminary findings showed that the stolen phones were packaged and transported to Kano State for sale to unsuspecting buyers, adding that efforts were currently underway to recover the stolen items.
Akwa Ibom: Police arrest armed robbery syndicate, recover firearms
