By Sampson Boroh
The police in Bayelsa State have arrested a 19-year-old dealer of locally made guns in Yenagoa, the state capital.
The suspect, Obiora Nwoka, was paraded by the police on Wednesday at the State Police Command.
Nwoka, also known as John Peters, was arrested by the police following intelligence report on his allege intermediary between the producers of the locally made guns and the buyers in the state.
Bayelsa Police Commissioner, Nkereuwem Akpan, said the suspected gun dealer had previously been arrested on various occasions for alleged armed robbery in the state.
Akpan, while parading the suspect and 16 others for various criminal offences, said the command also recovered arms and ammunition during raiding of suspected hideouts in the state.
The commissioner disclosed that those arrested included twelve armed robbery suspects and five others for cultism and possession of illegal firearms.
Also recovered are fourteen locally made piston, recovery of one dummy gun, recovery of two shot guns, one barret a pistol, recovery of three. 9mmm live ammunition, recovery of five live cartridges.
He also confirmed that the police also intercepted and arrested a Toyota Sequoia jeep with 20 bags of weed suspected to be Indian hemp along the East-West Road where the driver who wore a military uniform abandoned the vehicle and escaped.
According to CP Akpan, the recovered items include, a Toyota Sequoia Jeep with Registration Number UD 639 KJA, a tricycle with Registration number BER 900 QE, 14 locally made pistols, one dummy gun, 2 shot guns, one Beratta pistol, three 9mm live ammunitions, and 5 live cartridges.
He said, “As a proactive measure to further curtail criminal activities within this lockdown period, the Command has rejigged its security strategy to confront violent crimes in the state, through focused and intelligence driven raids on flashpoints, stop and search operations and through functional community policing programs.
“It is instructive to state that the Command has rescued kidnapped victims, worthy of note is the rescue of the SPDC workers and the 80-years old mother of the Chairman of Yenagoa Local Government Council Area, Madam Beauty Nimizuoa.”
“These achievements were made possible due to the cooperation and support of the law abiding people of the State, who have relentlessly engaged the Police in our renewed fight against crime.”
