By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a suspected member of an armed robbery and kidnapping syndicate allegedly operating around the Ifite Awka axis of the state, recovering three firearms and other items during an intelligence-led operation.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday, identifying the arrested suspect as 25-year-old Emmanuel Chekwube Mark.
According to the Police spokesman, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, arrested the suspect in the early hours of August 27 following credible intelligence, in what he described as another breakthrough in the Command’s ongoing operations against violent crime.
Ikenga said items recovered during the operation included a locally fabricated pistol, two pump-action guns and a military-pattern face cap.
Preliminary investigation, according to the Police statement, revealed that the suspect is allegedly a member of a four-man armed robbery and kidnapping syndicate operating within and around the Ifite Awka area, while his alleged accomplices are currently at large.
The Police spokesman said the suspect, during interrogation, allegedly disclosed that he and other members of the syndicate conspired to kidnap unsuspecting members of the public within the area.
Shockingly, SP Ikenga said the suspect allegedly confessed to being involved in the kidnapping of a victim on July 22, 2026, during which the victim was allegedly dispossessed of valuables, murdered and his remains abandoned in a bush.
The statement further revealed the alleged method used by the gang in luring and abducting its victims. According to the suspect’s alleged confession as contained in the Police statement, members of the syndicate usually operated with a tricycle, which they allegedly used to block their intended victims under the pretext that the victim had scratched or damaged the tricycle.
It was revealed that the gang would allegedly engage the victim in an argument before overpowering the person at gunpoint and taking the victim to a hideout at Umoji, Ebenebe, where victims were allegedly tortured and dispossessed of their valuables.
Reacting, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, ordered a comprehensive investigation into the case, while also directing the operatives to intensify efforts to apprehend the fleeing accomplices and other suspected members of the syndicate.
The Command assured residents of the state that it would continue to sustain intelligence-led and proactive operations targeted at preventing and dismantling armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent criminal activities across Anambra.
