-
Four suspects arrested in separate police raids in Uyo and Essien Udim.
-
Large quantities of suspected Indian hemp recovered from the two suspected criminal hideouts.
-
Anti-Cultism Unit raids alleged drug joint at Mnideim Nto Udo Village, Essien Udim.
-
Police intensify statewide crackdown on criminal hideouts, drug joints and black spots.
-
CP Azare orders wider investigation to trace drug suppliers, accomplices and criminal networks. Police urge residents to provide credible information while assuring informants of confidentiality.
September 06, (THEWILL) — The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has intensified its crackdown on criminal hideouts and identified black spots across the state, arresting four suspects and recovering large quantities of substances suspected to be Indian hemp in separate intelligence-led operations in Uyo and Essien Udim Local Government Areas.
The operations, conducted on Saturday, September 5, 2026, followed directives by the Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, fsi, for the dismantling of criminal hideouts and elimination of black spots considered threats to public safety.
In the first operation, police operatives, acting on credible intelligence, stormed a suspected criminal hideout along Aka-Etinan Road, Uyo, at about 4:00 p.m.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 25-year-old Inemesit Ekpeyong, while a search conducted on him led to the recovery of a large quantity of substances suspected to be Indian hemp.
In a separate coordinated operation, operatives of the Command’s Anti-Cultism Unit raided another suspected criminal hideout at Mnideim Nto Udo Village in Essien Udim LGA.
The location was reportedly identified through intelligence as a place allegedly used for the sale and consumption of illicit drugs and other activities capable of threatening public peace and security.
Three additional suspects — Mandu John, female; Ubong John, male; and Ekemine John, male — were arrested during the raid, while large quantities of substances suspected to be Indian hemp were recovered.
The Command said the Commissioner of Police has ordered a thorough investigation into the activities of the suspects, including efforts to trace the sources of the suspected illicit drugs, identify accomplices and uncover any wider criminal networks linked to the recovered substances.
The recovered exhibits will also undergo appropriate evidential and forensic procedures, while suspects found culpable will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
READ ALSO:
CP Azare warned that the Command would not allow any part of the state to become a safe haven for drug dealers, cultists, violent criminals or others whose activities endanger law-abiding residents.
He consequently directed Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers and tactical units across the state to sustain intelligence-led raids on criminal hideouts, drug joints and other identified black spots.
The Commissioner urged residents to continue providing the police with credible and timely information, assuring informants of confidentiality and reaffirming the Command’s commitment to protecting lives and property and maintaining peace across the state.
Speaking exclusively to THEWIL, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, said the latest arrests were part of a broader strategy by the Command to take the fight against criminality directly to locations where criminals allegedly operate.
“The Command is not waiting for criminal elements to come into the open before we act. We are deploying intelligence-led operations to identify and dismantle their hideouts and black spots.
The recovery of these substances and the arrests demonstrate that our strategy is yielding results.”
John added that the police would sustain the operations across the state and urged residents to see security as a collective responsibility.
He stressed that credible information from members of the public remains critical to identifying criminal networks, assuring residents that information supplied to the police would be treated with utmost confidentiality.
