Rivers police burst criminal hideout, arrest ex-convict, others

The police in Rivers State have arrested two criminal kingpins during a raid at a criminal hideout in Elelenwo in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.

The police said one of those arrested was Azubuike Orji, 27, from Arochukwu, who was recently released from a correctional centre.

The spokeswoman of the state police command, Grace Iringe-koko, disclosed this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

Iringe-Koko, a superintendent of police, said the arrest followed complaints from a victim in the area who was robbed recently of his belongings.

Part of the statement reads, “On December 1, 2023, the Rivers State Police Command received a formal complaint from a victim who had been robbed of his valuables at Odani junction in Elelenwo by a group of armed men. It was one in a series of complaints of armed robbery that the command received in the same period.

 “The commissioner of police immediately tasked the Anti-Kidnapping Unit to flush out the armed robbers from the area.  In response to the police chief’s directive, the unit carried out stop-and-search operations and placed the area under surveillance.

 “These crack operations led to the arrest of one Azubuike Orji, 27, a native of Arochukwu in Abia State, who claimed to be a bus conductor. The suspect, who was released from the Nigerian Correctional Service a few months ago, was rearrested with a locally made pistol.

‘He confessed to working for the leader of the armed robbery syndicate, Anthony Augustine, revealing that his specialty in the gang was peddling drugs and servicing guns.”

SP Iringe-koko said the police tracked a reported stolen device to an auxiliary nurse who turned out to be the wife of the armed robbery gang leader, adding that further interrogations led to the discovery of a 7-room brothel located in Odani, Elelenwo, that served as a hideout for members of the syndicate.

According to her, “On December 10, 2023, the gang leader, Anthony Augustine, 22, was arrested at Green City Estate in Odani, Elelenwo, amidst widespread jubilation from residents as he and his gang had been a terror to the community. Items recovered from the suspect include an iPhone XX, suspected packs of marijuana, POS machines, and locally-made pistols.

“The leader confessed to running the brothel as a cover for his underworld activities. Further investigation revealed that he was wanted for murder and robbery and had recently been released from a correctional centre.”