Law enforcement cracks down on abduction ring in Delta, frees captives

A daring rescue operation was carried out by the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber-Crime Squad of the Delta State Police Command, resulting in the liberation of a 27-year-old woman and other victims from a kidnap syndicate's hideout in the Ibusa/Ogwashi-Uku forests.

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This successful operation was made possible by intelligence gathered on the reported abduction of the woman, whose name has not been disclosed, from the Ibusa Community in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, as stated in a statement signed by Police Public Relations Officer Bright Edafe.

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According to the statement, which was made available to journalists in Warri on Monday, the operatives launched the rescue mission after receiving information that the victim had been taken to a building site beside Obosi River, on the outskirts of the town, along Ibusa/Ogwashi-Uku Road on March 12, 2026.

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The State Commissioner of Police, Aina Adesola, directed the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber-Crime Squad to ensure the victims were rescued unharmed and that the suspects were apprehended, following the receipt of this intelligence.

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Acting on this directive, the Commander of the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber-Crime Squad led operatives to the kidnappers' hideout on March 19, 2026, at about 1500hrs, where a firefight ensued, with the kidnappers eventually fleeing and abandoning their captives.

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The victims were then rescued and taken to a General Hospital for treatment, while efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspects are ongoing, as stated by Edafe.

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In a separate incident, the Divisional Police Officer of Owa-Oyibu Division received a distress call on March 18, at about 0930hrs, reporting a robbery that had occurred at about 0745hrs, in which one Sunday Blessing and two others robbed a POS operator of N600,000 at gunpoint at Diffrey Road by Ebu Owa Market.

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The DPO swiftly deployed operatives from the division, resulting in the arrest of one of the suspects, Sunday Blessing, from whom a locally made Beretta pistol was recovered, and who is currently in custody, with the investigation still ongoing.