The Delta State Police Command has rescued a kidnapped woman and arrested two suspected drug dealers in two separate operations carried out across different parts of the state.
According to a statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe on Tuesday, the incidents occurred on Saturday, at Ovian Aladja and Effurun GRA, respectively.
In the first operation, police officers attached to the Ovian Aladja Division responded to a distress call after a man reported that his wife had been abducted by armed men in the early hours of the day.
The command said the man, whose identity was withheld, told officers that the attack happened around 2 a.m. when the family was asleep.
“The DPO, CSP Friday Ekundayo, in a swift response, mobilised and led operatives of the division and went after the kidnappers with a view to ensuring that the woman is rescued unhurt and the suspects arrested,” the command said.
The team reportedly trailed the suspects into a forest along the Iyara community, where the kidnappers were said to have abandoned their victim after intense pressure from the pursuing officers.
“Following unrelenting effort from the DPO and his men, the kidnappers were forced to abandon the victim and escape.
“The victim was rescued unhurt and has since been reunited with her family, while manhunt for the fleeing suspects is ongoing,” Edafe added.
In a separate operation conducted on the same day, the command’s Crack Squad based in Asaba raided a suspected drug den in Effurun GRA, Uvwie Local Government Area, where two men were arrested.
He stated that the items recovered include 450 bottles of codeine syrup, 188 bottles of barcadine, 208 sachets of tramadol 100mg, 300 sachets of swinol, 100 sachets of tramadol 500mg, 50 sachets of rophynol, and a large bag of weed suspected to be cannabis.
The command said the operation was part of an intensified clampdown on the sale and distribution of illegal narcotics, which have been linked to a rise in violent crimes and substance abuse among youths.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect has been in the business for about two years, and usually buys the drug at Onitsha and prefers to travel at night so that he will not be caught easily,” the command disclosed.
Edafe further revealed that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the suspects’ suppliers and other accomplices involved in the network of illicit drug distribution across the region.
The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, commended the swift response of the DPO and his team, noting that their professionalism prevented what could have been another tragic incident.
He assured residents that the command would not relent in its efforts to make the state unsafe for criminals, warning that the police will continue to pursue kidnappers, cultists, and other offenders across Delta communities.
Abaniwonda also commended the Crack Squad for their intelligence-led operation, warned against the dangers of drug peddling and abuse, describing it as one of the major drivers of crime in society.
