Crime

Police Arrest Three Suspects for Armed Robbery and Cultism

Published by Tope Fakinlede on August 17th, 2024.

Police Arrest Three Suspects for Armed Robbery and Cultism

On Thursday, officers from the Nekede Division of the Imo State Police Command, acting on intelligence, arrested three individuals linked to serious crimes including illegal firearm possession, armed robbery, cultism, and motorcycle theft.

According to a statement from the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Henry Okoye, John Chukwudi, 27, from Ntu in Ngor Okpala LGA, was apprehended during a patrol with local vigilantes on Human Race Hospital Road, Nekede. Police recovered a locally-made pistol and five live cartridges from Chukwudi. During questioning, he admitted to being a member of the Black Axe confraternity and claimed the weapon was provided by an accomplice, Ugochukwu Ndubuisi, also known as Dimzi Gate, who remains at large.

In another case, Elijah Chigemezu, 23, from Ezzamgbo in Ebonyi State, was caught on Sunday along Cluster Road, Naze, while robbing a young man at gunpoint. Following a prompt response to a distress call, police in collaboration with the military apprehended Chigemezu and seized a locally-made shotgun. He confessed to the robbery during interrogation.

The third suspect, Chibieze Tasie, 32, was arrested at No. 1 Naze after an investigation into motorcycle thefts in Nekede. Tasie admitted to conspiring with an accomplice named Ndubisi, who is currently at large, to steal motorcycles. He revealed that he had lured a motorcyclist to a secluded area where his group stole the bike. Police also recovered N170,000, believed to be from the proceeds of the theft.

All three suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Owerri for further investigation.