How Police Arrested Rail Track Vandalism Syndicate In Benue

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

Facts have emerged on how operatives of the Nigeria Police Force arrested a criminal syndicate responsible for the recent economic sabotage and vandalising of rail tracks in the North-West and North-Central parts of the country. 

P M.EXPRESS reports as was disclosed by the Force Police Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba.

CP Mba said the arrest of the suspects followed deliberate efforts by the Force to contain and clampdown on perpetrators of recent incidents of rail tracks vandalism, carting away of critical locomotive equipment and other related economic crimes in some parts of the country. 

The vandals were among the 36 notorious criminal suspects arrested by the Police recently for offences of banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, possession of illegal firearms, cultism, murder, economic sabotage, cybercrime, car snatching, etc.

The Force spokesman, CP Mba, said the arrests were achieved as a result of sustained nationwide tactical, anti-crime operations by the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and the Special Tactical Squad (STS) in the ongoing efforts aimed at stemming criminal activities particularly violent crimes in the country. 

Exhibits recovered in the operations included: 8 AK-49 rifles, 3 AK-47 rifles, 1 locally made rifle, 346 rounds of AK-47 live ammunition, 24 live cartridges, 20 AK-47 magazines, cash sum of one million, four hundred thousand Naira (N1,400,000), vehicles – 2 Toyota Corolla (Abuja – RBC 653 AE and ABC 906 AG), 1 Toyota Camry, one 307 Peugeot (Abuja – BWR 920 HK), one 406 Peugeot and one Honda Civic.    
“The suspects involved in the rail track vandalism were Idris Lawal ‘m’ 42,  Abdullahi Musa, 29, and Usman Umar, 22, and were arrested following a coordinated intelligence-driven special operation on 27th May, 2021, which uncovered a warehouse in Gboko LGA of Benue State. A cordon and search operation conducted by the Police operatives on the building revealed different vandalized rail equipment, stolen rail installation racks, weld-shear, rail puller, other rail accessories and consumables. Further investigations by the Police team led to the interception of three (3) heavy-load trucks along Ikom-Ibom Junction in Cross River State. The trucks were fully loaded with vandalized rail items transported from the warehouse.”

CP Mba said investigation is ongoing to identity the destination, the targeted criminal receivers, end-users and other suspects complicit in the crime.