Commissioner of Police, Delta State, Mr Wale Abass, has warned criminals to stay away from the state: “It will be too hot for them.”
Meanwhile, 15 suspected armed robbers, kidnappers and cultists were arrested by the command. It also recovered some dangerous weapons from their hideouts in the forest.
Abass said: “My vision and mission in Delta State is to tackle criminality. We will wage unrelenting war against hoodlums who come from neighbouring states to rob and kidnap victims.
“I have set agenda for all my divisional police officers and area commanders to rise up to the challenge. We have to confront these armed robbers and kidnappers by being alert at all times.
“All the tactical teams have been warned not to be involved in extorting members of the public. Rather, this is the right time for them to wake up and put an end to the madness of killing policemen on duty and attacking police stations.
“The command has mapped out strategies to go after the hoodlums in their various camps and hideouts. We will imbibe community policing and apply professionalism in discharging our duties.
I have started redeploying officers to all the flashpoints to checkmate the hoodlums. I have been visiting some bad spots like Asaba/Benin Expressway, Warri, Ughelli axis. These are hot zones in which we are going to tackle criminals.
“We are doing this with the assistance of hunters and vigilance groups. We will involve then whenever we want to embark on raiding hideouts of the hoodlums.
“The Police Tactical Team (PTT) has arrested 10 suspected armed robbers terrorising residents of Agbor, Warri and Asaba. The PTT recovered some pump action, AK47rifles and 10 rounds of ammunition.
“Also police operatives clamped down on another seven suspected kidnappers. They rescued three victims from kidnappers in Ughelli. We gave them hot chase at the scene of crime.
“The command will focus on community policing on how to have good relationships with members of the public. We are ready to work with other sister security agencies to flush out criminals out of the state. All arrested suspects will be charged to court.”