By PHILIP EKE, YENAGOA

The Bayelsa State Police Command has paraded 17 suspected criminals for various criminal offences, and recovered arms and ammunition.

State Police Commissioner, Nkereuwem Akpan, who paraded the criminals at the Command Headquarters, Ovom, Yenagoa, on Wednesday, said they compromised of 12 armed robbery suspects and 5 other suspects for cultism and possession of illegal firearms.

He also confirmed that the Bayelsa police also intercepted and arrested a Toyota Sequoia jeep with 20 bags of weed suspected to be Indian hemp along the East-West Road where the driver who wore a military uniform abandoned the vehicle and escaped.

According to CP Akpan, the recovered items include, a Toyota Sequoia Jeep with Registration Number UD 639 KJA, a tricycle with Registration number BER 900 QE, 14 locally made pistols, one dummy gun, 2 shotguns, one Beratta pistol, three 9mm live ammunitions, and 5 live cartridges.

He said: “As a proactive measure to further curtail criminal activities within this lockdown period, the Command has rejigged its security strategy to confront violent crimes in the state, through focused and intelligence-driven raids on flashpoints, stop and search operations and through functional community policing programmes.

“It is instructive to state that the Command has rescued kidnapped victims, worthy of note is the rescue of the SPDC workers and the 80-years old mother of the Chairman of Yenagoa Local Government Council Area, Madam Beauty Nimizuoa.

“These achievements were made possible due to the cooperation and support of the law-abiding people of the state, who have relentlessly engaged the Police in our renewed fight against crime.”

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