Residents of Akure, the Ondo State capital can now heave a sigh of relief as men of Ondo State Security Network, otherwise known as Amotekun Corps, have arrested a six-man syndicate specialised in drugging their victims before raping and or robbing them.

Addressing newsmen at the headquartering of the formation at Alagbaka, the Corps Commander, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye disclosed that 32 criminal suspects were in the custody of the formation awaiting trial.

Revealing how the syndicate operates, Akogun Adeleye said the suspects, with the aid of a syringe, would spray a chemical substance into the apartments of their victims and wait for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, all souls including animals in the apartments would have fallen in deep sleep.

Then they would strike by cutting the burglarproof to gain entry into the apartments and ransack all the rooms and cart away whatever they were interested in.

They also raped their victims who would have been in deep sleep.

Other suspects were arrested for various criminal offences including armed robbery, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms, fraud and stealing, among others.

According to the Corps Commander, “We have a group of burglars that specializes in drugging unsuspecting residents of various houses, so, they will sleep off, brake the burglarproof, enter their houses dispose them of their valuables while some of them are raped.

“And because of the high dose of drugs they injected in their system, some of them don’t even wake up, so, we’ve been able to break that syndicate too.

“They don’t normally have direct access to the victims. What they do is to jump across their fences, and pump in with a syringe these chemicals into their rooms, waiting for about 30 to 40 minutes. Every living thing inside the room sleeps off. So, whatever they do, you don’t know again,” he said.

Speaking on the 24-hour inter-border surveillance and patrol across the Southwest region launched recently, entitled: “Operation Gba’le – Gba’ko” (ensuring sanity both at home and in the forest), Akogun Adeleye said: “On the border patrols, we’ve been able to rescue a couple of victims and some arrests were being made. Most of these arrests, after due diligence, will be prosecuted and the law will take it course on them.

“So, that is why we are here to show part of the dividends of operation gba’le-gba’ko of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, we have 32 suspects here awaiting trial.

“You will find out that most of these criminal activities take place in places where there are no Amotekun. Majority of the criminal activities between Ondo/Osun, Ondo/Oyo and Ondo/Ogun is very easy for us since we work together. That is why they take solace in the boundary of Edo and Kogi.

“But of late, I give it to the conventional security agencies both in Ondo, Edo and Kogi State, we’ve been working together and we are seeing positive results,” he explained.

The Corps Commander also disclosed another syndicate that specialises in hypnotising innocent citizens and either robbing or kidnapping them for ransom.

He said: “We had reports that innocent citizens doing their normal businesses are apprehended, kidnapped, robbed, especially around Oja Oba, First Bank, Post Office and Ilesha garage areas. So, we lay siege and we were able to apprehend a syndicate that specializes in hypnotizing innocent citizens and they are either robbed or kidnapped for ransom.”

Commenting on the recent kidnap of the 66-year-old Oba Clement Jimoh Olukotun, the Oloso of Oso, in Ajowa- Akoko, Akoko North-West Local Government Area of the state at his residence by gunmen, Akogun Adeleye explained that “as to the issue of the monarch, we tracked and we were able to have very good idea of what was happening there but what is paramount to us is the life of the victim.

“No matter how beautiful an operation is, once the victim is killed, then, it is defeated. So, these are some of the constraints that are almost natural in the course of our job to slow down.

“We can assure you that some of them involved in the kidnap of the monarch will be apprehended,” he added. (Daily Independent)

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