Over 3,547 suspected criminals in Kano were said to have been arrested for various crimes by the police since operation Puff-Adder was launched in the state about six months ago.
The outgoing Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, who disclosed this at a press conference, also said the command had prosecuted 30 suspects for alleged kidnapping.
Iliyasu, who assumed office as the Commissioner of Police in May 2019, had declared zero tolerance for kidnapping and other forms of organized crime in the state.
In his address during the news conference, CP Iliyasu, who has just been promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), said the arrest and prosecutions were possible because of the active engagement of the public through the command’s community policing strategy.
He said: “I took over when “Daba’’ activities were rampant in the state and there were threats of armed robbery. To tackle these, I immediately launched operation Puff-Adder. The tactical units of the command including Anti-Kidnapping, Special Anti-Robbery Squad, State Intelligence Bureau and the Anti-Daba were carefully restructured and re-organised for special purposes.
He said the policing strategy currently in place in the state was yielding results and urged the public to sustain the trust through community policing to purge the state of criminal elements.
“Policing strategy currently in place in Kano is yielding results. With the anti-crime machine of Operation Puff-Adder and community policing engagements tremendous achievements were recorded, worthy of mention including the recent rescue of nine kidnapped children from Anambra state and subsequent arrest of their abductors,” he said.
The CP commended journalists operating in the state for their active engagement in propagating trust between the police and the public through responsible coverage.
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