The Niger State Police Command has arrested four suspected fraudsters linked to a vehicle scam syndicate and recovered 67 rustled cattle after a gun duel with bandits in the state.
Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this in a statement, saying operatives attached to Maje Division, Suleja, arrested four suspects along Kaduna Road on May 12 while allegedly attempting to move a suspected stolen Volkswagen Golf vehicle to meet a buyer.
The suspects, identified as Badamasi Saidu, Adamu Musa, Yunusa Mohammed and Mohammed Usman, allegedly removed the vehicle’s number plate to disguise it as a newly acquired car.
Police said investigations revealed that the suspects specialised in framing unsuspecting buyers as receivers of stolen vehicles after pretending to sell such vehicles to them.
According to him, during interrogation, the suspects allegedly confessed to intimidating and extorting victims before reclaiming the vehicles.
Further investigation led to the recovery of another Volkswagen vehicle with registration number RSH 24 FD, a POS machine allegedly used for financial transactions, and a fake Police Mess identity card said to belong to one of the suspects.
In another operation, he disclosed that joint security operatives engaged suspected bandits in a gun duel along Mangoro-Idu village in Munya Local Government Area on May 14, forcing the hoodlums to abandon rustled livestock.
A total of 67 animals, comprising 43 cows and 24 sheep, were recovered and later handed over to their rightful owners in collaboration with local authorities.
Similarly, the command revealed that police operatives attached to Maikunkele Division recovered another cow at Rafin-Yashi after two suspects fled on sighting a patrol team.
The command also confirmed the arrest of about 20 suspected miscreants following violent clashes involving students of two secondary schools along Bosso Road in Minna.
The police image maker said the suspects were arrested during follow-up raids conducted between May 13 and 14 after the clash caused panic and disruption in the area.
Furthermore, he explained that, in a related development, a suspected thug allegedly armed with cannabis and an axe was shot in the leg after attacking a police team around Gwari Market, while the dangerous weapon and suspected drugs were recovered.
