Operatives of the Operation Puff Adder of Imo State Police Command on Thursday paraded 72 people suspected to be involved in the recent wave of crime in the state.
Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, said that the suspects were arrested at different points in the state within the last six weeks.
Also arrested, was a member of a gang of serial rapists, Stanley Ebere, who participated in the gang rape of an 11-year old girl in the company of the fleeing members of the gang.
According to him, the clampdown on criminal elements in the state is in line with the “Operation Puff Adder” launched by the Inspector General of Police, which he said is still in force.
He said that 22 kidnap victims were rescued, while 11 stolen vehicles were recovered within the time under review.
Ladodo said that among those paraded were members of a notorious kidnap syndicate that specializes in the abduction of underaged children at their homes, often times in the dead of the night.
The suspects, Chukwuemeka Onyebuchi (43) and Aina Nwachukwu aged 45, were arrested on a tipoff after they stole two minors, Oluwa Chukwu Opanwa (4) and Promise Opanwa (2), both female of the same parents at Umuobum in Ideato South Council Area of the state.
According to the CP, the Police are on the trail of other fleeing members of the gang; while efforts are on to recover the stolen children.
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