The Delta State Police Command, on Thursday, paraded 12 suspects for various crimes, including a 17-year-old boy (name withheld) who faked his kidnap in the Agbor area of the state.

Parading the suspects at the police headquarters in Asaba, the state capital, the state Commissioner of Police, Abaniwonda Olufemi, stated that the teenager had already squandered the ransom paid before being arrested.

He said, “On March 20, 2024, the DPO Agbor Division received a complaint on the suspected kidnap of a 17-year-old boy (name withheld) in Okhumera quarter, Agbor-Obi.

“The suspect forwarded a voice note to his sister stating that he had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding N1m.

“The DPO swung into action, acting on a technically generated intelligence, and arrested three suspects.

“Investigation revealed that the 17-year-old connived with his friends and faked his kidnapping.

“Before they were arrested, they had already collected a ransom of N700,000 and had squandered the money. Investigation is ongoing.”

Olufemi, who also lamented the rate of hard drugs in the streets, said that the command is currently working in synergy with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to address the menace in society.

According to him, on April 6, 2024, operatives of Eagle-Net Special Squad, while on routine patrol along Asaba-Agbor Expressway, Isele-Asagba, flagged down a white Toyota Hiace bus driven by one Sunday Eze, 53.

The bus and the driver were subjected to a search, “during which 375 bottles of CSP codeine, 44 bottles of CSC codeine, 120 sachets of tramadol, and 33 sachets of Swinol were recovered from him.”

While appealing to members of the public, particularly Deltans, to cooperate with the police and other security agencies in the fight against crime and criminality by providing credible information, Olufemi said that the command had made a lot of achievements within the period under review.

He directed all divisional police officers to sustain raids that identified black spots and drug dealers in their areas of responsibility, embark on visibility patrol/stop and search duty, and ensure that crime and criminality do not thrive in their area. (The PUNCH)

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