Police arrest 80 suspects, recover six vehicles, firearms in Lagos
The Lagos State Police Command announced the arrest of 80 suspects and the recovery of various firearms and other items during operations conducted from October 1 to October 7. The operations aimed to combat armed robbery, vandalism, traffic offenses, fraudulent job recruitment, and other criminal activities across the state.
Commissioner of Police Fatai Tijani shared these details at a press conference on Wednesday at the command’s headquarters in Ikeja. He stated that the operations resulted in the seizure of four Beretta pistols, eight locally made pistols, four rounds of live 9mm ammunition, and six vehicles.
Among the recovered items were six mobile phones, six battle axes, four cutlasses, a toy gun, five sacks of illicit drugs, vandalized iron materials, and electrical wires.
Tijani reported that nine suspects were arrested for alleged vandalism along the Coastal Road, and 19 individuals were detained for supposedly fraudulent job recruitment practices in the Tori-Lovi Community of Age-Mowo. Of those apprehended for recruitment fraud, 17 were male and two were female, accused of misleading the public with false employment opportunities.
In addition, 29 suspects were captured for alleged traffic robbery along the Lekki-Epe axis. A 43-year-old man, suspected of being a receiver of stolen vehicles, was arrested in Ishawo Agric, Ikorodu, with four stolen vehicles and seven vehicle number plates recovered from him. The vehicles included a black Lexus RX 330 Jeep and two Toyota Camry models from different years.
Tijani indicated that the suspect allegedly obtained these stolen vehicles from a member of a criminal gang, whose other members are still at large.
Fourteen suspects were also arrested in Maroko for alleged public nuisance, while an alleged gang leader connected to the attack and robbery of a military officer and his family in Itire was detained. That incident, which occurred on October 4, involved the assailants blocking the victim’s vehicle, assaulting him and his wife, stealing N300,000, and vandalizing their vehicle.
In an unrelated case, a 28-year-old man was arrested for drugging a female victim and stealing three mobile phones, valued at N3.02 million, from her apartment in Ikeja. According to the commissioner, the suspect mixed a substance believed to be a hard drug into the victim’s drink.
Three additional suspects, aged 25 to 38, were arrested for armed robbery and phone snatching incidents around Westminster and Marine Bridge, leading to the recovery of three mobile phones. Another suspect, who had allegedly stolen a 2015 Toyota Corolla from his uncle in Enugu, was also detained.
Tijani noted that the police conducted raids on identified criminal hideouts throughout the state, resulting in the recovery of illicit drugs, cutlasses, battle axes, and other items suspected to be used as weapons.
The commissioner emphasized the importance of intelligence-led policing and proactive measures in crime prevention. He called on the public to continue providing reliable information to assist the police in their operations, assuring residents that the command remains committed to dismantling criminal networks and safeguarding lives and public infrastructure.
