Five persons have been arrested by the Bauchi State Police Command in separate operations over alleged burglary and possession of suspected cannabis, with security operatives recovering stolen household items and other valuables during routine patrols across the Bauchi metropolis.
The arrests were disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the command’s spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Nafiu Habib, who said operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit carried out the operations on August 3.
According to Habib, the first operation took place at about 2:00 p.m. in Doya Quarters, where officers intercepted a tricycle conveying three occupants after acting on reasonable suspicion.
The suspects were identified as Sadiq Abdullahi, 27, Muhammad Suleman, 18, both residents of Unguwar Sarakuna, and Aliyu Abubakar, 21, the tricycle rider from Kofar Gombe, Bauchi.
“The patrol team intercepted a tricycle with registration number TRR123VD. A search led to the recovery of four boxes containing assorted new shoes, clothes and jewellery, one 6kg gas cylinder, one 32 inch LG flat screen television and one tabletop gas cooker,” Habib said.
He added that preliminary investigations revealed the suspects allegedly conspired with another suspect, identified simply as Nanu, who remains at large, to break into a residence in Unguwar Sarakuna and cart away the recovered items.
“The suspects voluntarily confessed to conspiring with one Nanu, not his real name, to break into a dwelling house at Unguwar Sarakuna and steal the recovered items,” the police spokesperson stated.
Habib said detectives later traced the owners of the burgled house, who identified the recovered property as theirs. The female owner reportedly told investigators that she had travelled to Jos on July 31, leaving the valuables behind, but later discovered that some clothes and a gold earring were still missing.
In a separate operation conducted later the same day at about 4:00 p.m. in Bayan Gari, police operatives arrested two other suspects, Mansur Sani, 25, and Umar Muhammad, 30, both residents of Bakin Kura, over alleged possession of suspected cannabis.
“At the point of arrest, the duo were seen exchanging two parcels of dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp,” Habib said.
The command noted that investigations into both cases were ongoing, adding that efforts had been intensified to apprehend the fleeing burglary suspect and identify the source of the suspected cannabis.
“The suspects will subsequently be charged in court upon the completion of the investigation,” Habib added.
