The Anambra Police Command has arrested a suspected armed robber and kidnapper, Emmanuel Mark, 25, and recovered firearms in Ifite Awka area of the state.
The Police Public Reactions Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Awka.
“The Anambra Police Command has recorded another significant breakthrough in its ongoing intelligence-led operations against violent crime, following the arrest of a 25-year-old male suspect, Emmanuel Mark, by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Awkuzu.
“The suspect was arrested in the early hours of August 27, 2026, following credible intelligence,” he said.
Ikenga said that items recovered during the operation included one locally fabricated pistol, two pump-action guns and one military-pattern face cap.
He said that preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect was part of a four-man armed robbery and kidnapping gang that had been operating around the Ifite, Awka axis of the state.
Ikenga said that the suspect disclosed investigation that he and other members of the gang, currently at large, have been involved in robbing people within the area.
“The suspect also confessed to his involvement in the kidnapping of a victim on July 22, 2026,” he said.
The spokesperson said that the suspect’s statement confessed to dispossessing their victim of his valuables after which he was allegedly murdered, with his remains abandoned in a bush.
Ikenga also said that the suspect informed the police that his gang usually operated using a tricycle.
He said that the suspects allegedly use a tricycle to block their unsuspecting victims’ vehicle on the pretext that they had scratched or damaged the tricycle.
“The gang will then engage their victim in an argument, overpower the person at gunpoint and forcefully take the victim to their hideout at Umoji, Ebenebe, where the victims are tortured and dispossessed of their valuables,” Ikenga said.
The PPRO said that the Commissioner of Police (CP), Anambra Command, Mr Nnanna Ama, had ordered a comprehensive investigation into the case.
He further said that the CP had directed the operatives to intensify efforts to apprehend the fleeing accomplices and other members of the gang.
The spokesperson quoted Ama as assuring residents that the command will continue to sustain intelligence-led and proactive operations aimed at preventing and dismantling armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent criminal groups across the state.
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