Police arrest 62 suspects for various crimes in Edo

The Police Command in Edo says it has arrested 62 suspects for various crimes in the state.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Babatunde Kokumo, disclosed this on Thursday in Benin at a media briefing.

Kokumo said that the suspects were arrested from December 2017 to date.

He said weapons recovered from the suspects include: seven AK-47 rifles; one bereta pistol; one Pump Action gun; 34 locally made cut-to-size pistols as well as 138.62mm live ammunition.

Other weapons found with the suspects, he said, were 13.9mm live ammunition; seven live cartridges; seven exotic vehicles; 12 phones; a machete; toy gun and a face mask.

The commissioner said among the suspects were two herdsmen arrested for attempted murder; four suspected human traffickers and two members of a deadly kidnap and robbery syndicate which terrorises people along the Benin -Auchi road.

He also said that the command had rescued and released the Reverend Sisters kidnapped in November 2017 in Benin.

He explained that the sisters were released without any ransom paid.

According to him, few days to their release, the police engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle  at Ovia River.

Kokumo said that in the process the kidnappers lost one of their boats with which they ferried the sisters from one location to the another.

He said the shoot-out resulted in the kidnappers abandoning their camp where the reverend sisters were kept, which paved way for their escape and release on Jan 7.

The police commissioner commended the people of Edo for cooperating with the command by providing useful information that helped in combating crimes in the state.

He said the command would not relent in its efforts to protect lives and property in the state.

He also commended the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris for approving the commencement of operations of the Police Marine in the Edo waterways.