The Rivers State Police Command has arrested three suspects over their alleged involvement in the abduction of travellers along the Port Harcourt-Owerri Road.
The police also accused the three male suspects of abducting a member of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, serving in Rivers and orchestrating several armed robberies along the road.
Commissioner of Police Mustapha Bala disclosed this at a news conference in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Bala said that the arrests followed a recent crackdown on rising criminal activity on the road, which has become a hotspot for violent attacks on motorists.
“The suspects, Blessing Akpelu alias NTA, 28, Wisdom Amadi, 28, and Precious Ebee, 30, all natives of Egbeda in Emohua LGA, Rivers, are now in police custody.
“They operate by setting up illegal roadblocks to trap unsuspecting travellers on the Port Harcourt-Owerri Road, robbing them and holding them for ransom.
“The suspects were under police surveillance following an alarming rise in kidnappings, including the abduction of the NYSC member and two others along the Elele-Omerelu axis of the expressway,” he said.
Bala explained that Akpelu and Ebee were apprehended on October 17, while the gang leader, Amadi, was arrested in Egbeda on October 19.
He noted that the suspects had confessed to the crime and were assisting the police in tracking fleeing members of the gang.
“Officers are working to recover their operational weapons and uncover the full extent of their criminal network,” he added.