Police Arrest 225, Recover Arms in Raid on Criminal Hideouts

Matilda Omonaiye/

Police on Wednesday arrested 225 suspects during simultaneous raids on identified criminal enclaves in Mushin, Lagos.

Some of the suspects were caught with arms and ammunition and large quantity of weed suspected to be Indian hemp.

The areas raided include Akala and Idi-Oro, both of which have long been notorious for harbouring criminals.

The suspects were paraded today during a press conference addressed by the commissioner of police, Mr. Edgal Imohimi, at command headquarters in Ikeja.

Imohimi said the raid became necessary due to the “brazen nature criminals living among the people attack residents and law enforcement officers”.

The police boss further stated: “During the raid, the criminal elements resisted the police by hurling stones and different types of missiles at them, breaking windscreens of few of the vehicles parked by the side of the road.

“But this did not deter the officers from arresting 255 suspects comprising of 246 males and nine females and seizing 39 big bags of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp. They also recovered two pump action rifles and ammunition in the process. Some of those arrested were caught breaking car windshields.”

Imohimi said the command would not rest “until the streets of Lagos are rid of drug peddlers, cultists and armed criminals”.

He used the occasion to advise parents and guardians to warn their children and wards against acts of criminality and avoid hanging around criminal elements, adding that the police would continue to raid all places identified by their intelligence unit as black spots in the state.

Spokesman for the command, SP Chike Oti, told NewsmakersNG that investigation had been concluded and all the suspects had been charged to court with the help of the Directorate of Public Prosecution.

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