Rivers State Police Command has dismantled a notorious ‘one-chance’ gang that has been terrorising Port Harcourt and its surroundings for over two years.

The operation, led by Police Commissioner Olatunji Disu, resulted in the arrest of three suspects and the recovery of crucial evidence.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Thaddeus Sunday Ogu, 42, a male from Orlu Community in Imo State; Chinagorom Eze, 35, a female from Ekpiga Community in Enugu State; and Favour Yusuf, 30, from Plateau State.

SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the spokesperson for the command, revealed that the gang had been operating along the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway for the past two years.

On September 4, around 9:00 p.m., a police patrol team spotted the gang robbing their latest victim near Garrison flyover. The officers swiftly apprehended the suspects in their purple Volkswagen Golf 3, used for their criminal activities.

Iringe-Koko disclosed that the gang leader, Ogu, attempted to resist arrest by firing at the police officers, resulting in him sustaining injuries. He was taken to the Police Clinic in Port Harcourt but later died from his wounds.

During interrogation, the gang members confessed to their crimes and explained their modus operandi. They would create a single passenger space in the front seat of their vehicle while the gang members occupied the other seats. They would then threaten and rob their victims of their valuables before pushing them out of the moving car. The stolen items were sold to receivers, and the gang members shared the proceeds.

Evidence recovered from the suspects includes their operational Volkswagen Golf 3 car, a locally made pistol, and one live cartridge. The suspects and the exhibits are currently in police custody as investigations continue.

Also, the command arrested three suspects involved in child trafficking and rescued a year-old baby boy from them.

An incident occurred on August 25 when operatives from the Ubima Divisional Headquarters received a distress call.

According to the police, while responding to the distress, the mother of the rescued boy, Queen Orlu, 20, was found lying unconscious in Omeka Farmland at Ucheabuor in Ikwerre Local Council of the state with multiple injuries and her intestines protruding from a stomach wound.

The police explained that investigations revealed that the suspect, identified as Polycarp Uzoma, from Akwa in Ohaji Council of Imo State, lured the baby’s mother into a bush path, attacked her, and left her for dead.

The suspect then picked the boy and sold him to Happiness Amadi for N1,400,000.

The police added that one Chinyere Ordu, an auxiliary nurse, brokered the deal and received N800,000 as part payment.

Three suspects have confessed to the crime, and the police have recovered N800,000 and a bicycle as exhibits.

The rescued boy has been reunited with his mother, who is receiving medical treatment at the hospital.