The Anambra State Police Command has arrested members of a criminal gang linked to an attack on the convoy of former Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, with two suspects killed during a gun battle.

The command described the development as a major operational breakthrough in its ongoing efforts to rid the state of criminal elements and ensure the safety of lives and property.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Tochukwu Ikenga, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Awkuzu, acting on credible intelligence, laid an ambush on a five-man gang at the Enugwu Agidi junction.

Ikenga said the suspects, believed to be armed robbers and cultists with links to a proscribed secessionist group, engaged the operatives in a gun battle upon sighting them.

“During the exchange, which lasted about two hours, two of the armed suspects sustained fatal gunshot injuries, while three others escaped with varying degrees of injuries,” the PPRO stated.

He added that the operatives recovered one T.06 rifle, two pump-action guns, 24 rounds of T.06 ammunition, 15 live cartridges, assorted criminal charms, a cult red beret, and a black Toyota Highlander vehicle.

Ikenga disclosed that one of the suspects, before dying, confessed that members of the gang were involved in the earlier attack on Senator Ngige’s convoy. The suspect also admitted to being part of the strike squad of the Vikings confraternity, allegedly on a retaliatory mission following the killing of one of their members by a rival cult group.

Commending the operatives for their gallantry, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ikioye Orutugu, directed them to intensify efforts to track down and arrest the fleeing suspects.

He also urged hospitals and other medical facilities to treat individuals with gunshot injuries, while promptly reporting such cases to the nearest police station. (Vanguard)

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