In a renewed offensive against organized crime, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have dismantled a major arms and kidnapping network operating between Delta and Anambra States, leading to multiple arrests and the recovery of firearms, ammunition, and ransom money running into millions of naira.

Delta State Commissioner of Police, Abaniwonda Olufemi, disclosed this during a press briefing yesterday, noting that the operation followed credible intelligence from the Force Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU), Abuja. He said officers attached to the CP-Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT) apprehended a female suspect, Jamila Abubakar, at Conoil Filling Station along the Warri–Patani Road, Effurun, Delta State.

According to him, the suspect was found in possession of N550,000, suspected to be proceeds of illicit arms trafficking. Further investigation, he said, led to a major breakthrough in the Niger-Cat area of Warri, where operatives arrested a notorious arms dealer, Ahmed Ibrahim, 31, who had long been on the police watch list for allegedly supplying weapons to bandit groups in the North.

“At the point of his arrest on October 22, 2025, police recovered a cache of weapons, including 115 rounds of 7.63mm AK-47 live ammunition, 220 rounds of SMG rifle ammunition, and 32 live cartridges,” the CP stated.

“A subsequent raid on one of the suspect’s hideouts near Ughelli-Warri, before Beta Glass Company, led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle and 18 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition buried in the bush,” he added.

Olufemi said preliminary investigations linked Ibrahim to several high-profile crimes, including the kidnapping and murder of Miss Ogheneovo Onemu in 2024, at Ajaokuta Community, in Ughelli North Council. He noted that Onemu was killed despite a ransom payment of N4 million, underscoring the gang’s brutality.

The Commissioner also disclosed that following a distress call on October 3, 2025, the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Squad launched an operation after two persons were abducted at Oduke, Asaba.

“Acting on intelligence, operatives traced the ransom trail to Ihiala, Anambra State, where they arrested one Ndianefo Cypre, 60, whose bank account was used to collect ransom money. Further arrests in Ihiala and Nnewi led to the recovery of N1.5 million and N2.6 million, respectively, part of the ransom paid by the victims’ families. Another suspect, Onwe Sunday, 49, was also apprehended in possession of ransom cash, while Uzoma Ifeanyi Chukwu was arrested in Nnewi following confessions by the earlier suspects,” he revealed.

Describing the operations as “intelligence-led and tactically coordinated,” Olufemi said they resulted in the recovery of 13 firearms, 591 rounds of ammunition and cartridges, the rescue of five kidnapped victims, the arrest of 77 suspects, the recovery of three vehicles, and the seizure of N4.1 million ransom cash. (The Guardian)