Gold theft: Nigeria Police arrest 3 over Abuja robbery

The Nigeria Police have, on Saturday, July 20, 2024, announced the arrest of three persons suspected to be involved in house breaking, gold theft and other valuables in Abuja.

The spokesperson for the police force, Mr. Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this announcement during a media briefing in Abuja.

Mr. Adejobi further mentioned that the suspects were apprehended as a result of an investigation conducted by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

Who are the suspects in the gold robbery?

According to him, investigations by IRT revealed that the main suspect in the gold robbery case was a fish trader at Kado fish market in Abuja.

The suspects had targeted three houses in Lugbe area of Abuja afterwards proceeded to a fourth house.

There, they jumped the fence and used a motor jack to widen the bars of the burglary.

This act gave them access into the house where they were able to carry out their robbery.

The suspects discovered a safe inside the house and took it with them and used a hammer and chisel to force it open.  Inside, they found money, documents, and gold.

Adejobi stated: “Upon the discovery, the prime suspect contacted a buyer to dispose of the items where he realised over N60 million after selling the items.”

More arrests in Plateau state

Adejobi further mentioned that operatives of the IRT had apprehended 16 suspects. 

These suspects were linked to the theft and robbery of motorcycles and tricycles in Plateau state.

The suspects were particularly active at night, targeting unsupervised tricycles.

The authorities apprehended the robbers based on credible intelligence.

Additionally, the police spokesman said that the suspects were stopping motorcyclists on the road while traveling.

Those involved in the operation would pose as police officers, using fake identity cards to successfully carry out their robberies.

Their targets were motorists traveling late at night. 

They confiscated motorcycles and instructed the owners to recover them from the nearest police division.

The suspects had stolen numerous motorcycles, which they subsequently sold to a recipient group within their network.

Recoveries made by the police

Adejobi reported that police operatives had retrieved eight motorcycles and 11 tricycles from the suspects.

He mentioned that over the past six weeks, police operatives had apprehended a total of 1,284 suspects.

The authorities made these arrests for crimes such as armed robbery, theft, kidnapping, rape, homicide, cultism, and other criminal offenses.

Breaking it down, law enforcement apprehended 307 suspects for armed robbery, 296 for kidnapping, 301 for homicide, 176 for rape and defilement, and 204 for cult-related offenses.

Specifically, these numbers highlight the diversity of criminal activities addressed by law enforcement.

According to the police spokesman, the authorities recovered 284 firearms during the period under review.

Additionally, they seized 6,702 rounds of ammunition of various calibers. They also seized 107 vehicles and successfully rescued 97 kidnap victims.

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