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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Police Command said it had arrested 10 suspected kidnappers and destroyed several criminal hideouts in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.
The operation was carried out by the state Commissioner of Police,
Olatunji Disu, accompanied by the Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations, Adepoju Olugbenga, some Area Commanders, heads of tactical units, Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), officers of the command early hours of Saturday.
Sunday Sun gathered that police combed the vast bush and its environs behind the Adokiye-Amiesiemaka Stadium at Igwuruta, Ikwerre Local Government Area, where kidnappers terrorising Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport road were suspected to be hibernating.
The operation was in continuous bid to ensure safety of road users and residents in all parts of the state.
During the raid, about ten suspects were arrested and more than 12 makeshift tents used as camps abandoned by the suspected kidnappers were destroyed.
Briefing journalists, Olugbenga said the operation was a routine exercise.
He stated that the police mostly go to vulnerable points, where there were issues of hoodlums trying to disturb the peace of the place.
He said it was observed that within the period, there were issues of hoodlums trying to ambush people going to and coming from the airport.
The DC Operation also revealed that the command had deployed a lot of personnel in that axis.
The DCP revealed that behind the Adokiye Amiesiemaka Stadium, there were abandoned buildings under construction and good roads which made it a good area for criminals to use as hideouts.
The head of operation stated that, from intelligence, some criminals came from there to cause havoc along Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport road.
Olugbenga said the area was combed by the personnel of the command led by the Commissioner of Police and they (police) were able to arrest about ten suspects.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police also disclosed that some camps where there were shanties abandoned by suspected kidnappers were also destroyed.
Olugbenga noted that there was special concentration on the airport axis because of its importance to the state and the police could not allow criminal activities thrive there or any other part of the state.
He assured that the Rivers State Police Command would continue to comb the place and other places criminals were using as hideouts to ensure that people of the state slept with their two eyes closed.
