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Kidnap plot foiled: Marine Police and Marine Hunters disrupted an alleged kidnapping operation along the Calabar–Oron Channel.
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Weapons, boats recovered: Police seized a pump-action gun, two cartridges, rope, two speedboats and four outboard engines.
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Second breakthrough: A 29-year-old suspected criminal, Thank God Ekpe, was arrested in Mkpatenin with a locally made gun, a live cartridge and two machetes.
September 08, (THEWILL) — The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has foiled a planned kidnapping operation in Oron, recovering a pump-action gun, ammunition, two speedboats and four outboard engines from a suspected criminal camp along the Calabar–Oron Channel.
According to a Police statement endorsed by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John and made available to journalists in Uyo, the operation, carried out at about 6:05 am on Tuesday, followed credible intelligence on the activities of a suspected kidnapping syndicate allegedly preparing to strike within the Oron axis.
Operatives of the Marine Police, Oron, working with Marine Hunters, moved against the suspected camp and recovered one Jojeef English pump-action gun, two cartridges and a white rope suspected to have been intended for criminal activities.
Also recovered were two speedboats, three 200HP outboard engines and one 15HP outboard engine.
The statement said the recovered items had been secured for documentation and further investigation, while the operation formed part of its intelligence-led strategy to identify and disrupt criminal networks before they execute their plans.
The Command said it had intensified surveillance of Akwa Ibom’s waterways, particularly strategic channels and coastal communities, to prevent criminal elements from using the waterways as operational corridors, hideouts or escape routes.
The Police further assured residents of Oron and other riverine communities, including boat operators and fishermen, that the waterways remained calm and peaceful following the operation.
The Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, commended the Marine Police and Marine Hunters for their professionalism, courage and effective use of intelligence in foiling the alleged kidnapping plot.
Azare also warned criminal elements operating within or across state boundaries that Akwa Ibom would not be allowed to serve as a safe haven, staging ground or escape corridor for kidnappers and other violent criminals.
The Commissioner called on residents to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious persons, movements, vessels or activities to the Police and other security agencies.
Police Arrest 29-Year-Old Suspected Gang Member With Gun, Cartridge, Machetes
Meanwhile, the Command has also arrested a 29-year-old suspected member of a criminal gang allegedly involved in arson and robbery in Mkpatenin Local Government Area.
The suspect, identified as Thank God Ekpe of Ikot Akpabong Village, was arrested at about 4:50 am on September 3, following intelligence on the activities of a suspected gang operating in the area.
Police said one locally made short gun, a live cartridge and two machetes were recovered during the operation.
Ekpe, who remains in Police custody, is assisting investigators with information expected to lead to the identification and arrest of other suspected gang members and their associates.
Azare reaffirmed the Command’s determination to sustain operational pressure against robbery, arson, cultism, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms and other violent crimes across the state.
A fisherman from Oron, who spoke on the feat by the police, said the development is reassuring because people living around the waterways have always been concerned about the possibility of criminals using the creeks as hideouts.
He said the recovery of the boats and engines shows that the Police are becoming more proactive.
“What we need now is sustained surveillance so that the waterways do not become a safe route for criminals”, the fisherman told THEWILL
