Police arrest 30 suspects, recover stolen vehicles, guns in Imo

The Imo State Police Command has arrested no fewer than 30 suspects for offences including armed robbery, car snatching, cultism, and unlawful possession of firearms.

Police spokesperson DSP Henry Okoye disclosed this in a statement released on Tuesday in Owerri, saying the arrests were made during various operations by the command’s Quick Intervention Team and Rapid Response Squad.

Okoye said the operations led to the recovery of three stolen vehicles, arms, and ammunition from the suspects.

According to him, “on November 7, 2025, at about 7 pm, armed hoodlums snatched a Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 with registration number ABC-10CG from one Chukwuebuka and his friends at Ikenegbu by Holy Family Catholic Hospital, Owerri.

“Following a distress call, QIT operatives tracked the vehicle towards Okigwe Road and recovered it at about 10:30 pm. One suspect, Adamu Sani of Kachia LGA, Kaduna State, was arrested. He confessed to the crime and named Abdullahi, Emmanuel, and Emeka as his accomplices.”

He added that around 3 am on November 8, operatives recovered a black Toyota Hilux with registration number NEM-14AG, reportedly stolen from a hotel in Rivers State. The vehicle, he said, was abandoned at New Owerri by De Angels around 5 am.

Okoye also confirmed that on the same day, a Toyota Venza earlier snatched by three armed men at New Owerri by De Compound on November 7 was recovered abandoned at Yar’Adua Drive by Chosen Church around 5:30 pm.

“All the recovered vehicles have been identified by their owners, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend other fleeing suspects,” he stated.

In a related development, the command said operatives of the RRS on stop-and-search duty along the Owerri/Aba Road intercepted two young men in a commercial bus heading to Owerri around 8:30 am on November 2.

A search conducted on them, Okoye said, led to the recovery of a cut-to-size locally fabricated double-barrel gun with three live cartridges.

“The suspects, identified as Uchechukwu Ahamefule, 25, and Miracle Eberechi, 28, both of Ogbu Umuorji, Osisioma, Abia State, confessed to being members of the Vikings/Bagar confraternity cult group. They claimed to have seized the firearm from a rival group in Aba for their protection,” he added.
He said investigations were ongoing to arrest other members of their syndicate.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, assured residents of sustained efforts to rid the state of criminal elements, urging the public to remain law-abiding and share useful information to assist security operations.

Source: Punch