- The Edo State Police Command has successfully dismantled an organized criminal gang behind the brazen June 14 abduction of a female shopper at the popular Vegetable Market off Airport Road in Benin City.
- Operatives from the elite Intelligence Response Team (IRT) arrested four suspects, including a female accomplice, and neutralized a major gang member named Precious during a high-stakes shootout.
- Law enforcement teams recovered ₦2,050,000 in cash, a pump-action shotgun, and the red Lexus RX 350 SUV explicitly used by the syndicate to intercept and transport the victim.
The Edo State Police Command has smashed the organized crime syndicate responsible for the high-profile abduction of a female shopper at the popular Vegetable Market in Benin City, arresting four key suspects and neutralizing one other during fierce gun battles.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the sweeping operational breakthrough, which unfolded across several coordinated tactical raids in Edo and neighboring Delta State, comes as a major relief to residents of the state capital following widespread public outcry triggered by a viral eyewitness video detailing the brazen daylight assault.
EDITOR’S PICK
- Hamzat Appoints Obanikoro as Campaign DG Ahead of 2027 Lagos Governorship Race
- Tinubu’s State Police Plan Gains Momentum as Amendment Looms
- Residents Raise Alarm After Two Bodies Found in Lagos Waterway
State security chiefs confirmed that the neutralized suspect and his arrested accomplices have been definitively linked to a string of other high-stakes abductions and armed robbery operations within the regional axis.
Detailing the major breakthrough in an official press briefing, the Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, stated that the intense crackdown was launched under the direct administrative orders of State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika.
Acting on a chain of highly credible, forensic intelligence reports, operatives from the specialized Intelligence Response Team (IRT) traced the criminal cell to an active operational hideout.
This initial encounter degenerated into an immediate gun duel on June 18, leading to the arrest of 32-year-old Marvelous Isaac and the fatal shooting of another suspect identified simply as Precious, who succumbed to injuries sustained while attempting to violently resist arrest.
A meticulously executed follow-up raid on June 20 resulted in the picking up of additional ring members, identified by the police as 27-year-old Gift Raphael, alongside Wisdom Michael and Rufus Michael.
The suspects were tracked and apprehended during separate, precision operations spanning both Benin City and strategic hideouts inside Delta State.
During extensive initial interrogations, all four suspects provided voluntary confessional statements confirming their direct involvement in the logistics and execution of the June 14 abduction, while exposing their broader criminal footprints in organized highway operations.
Among the high-value criminal assets recovered by the IRT operatives at the scenes were a red Lexus RX 350 SUV bearing registration number EKP 848 AE, which the suspects explicitly confessed was the primary tactical vehicle used to block and abduct the victim, one operational pump-action shotgun, two live cartridges, a motorcycle used for advanced scouting, and a cash sum of ₦2,050,000 believed to be a portion of illicit proceeds.
The victim had originally been torn away from her husband and young children while shopping at the Airport Road market enclave by heavily armed men who fled before local security guards could organize a counter-response.
In his post-operation review, Commissioner of Police Monday Agbonika highly commended the IRT operatives for demonstrating exceptional bravery, professional promptness, and an unyielding dedication to duty in successfully dismantling the multi-state kidnapping network.
Reaffirming the command’s commitment to absolute public safety, Agbonika assured Edo residents that the police would remain on the offensive until all remaining criminal syndicates are thoroughly uprooted.
He further implored citizens to maintain heightened situational awareness and continue feeding real-time, actionable security information to nearby police divisions to help eliminate preemptive threats.
