The Ogun State Police Command has arrested eight suspected members of an armed robbery syndicate allegedly responsible for violent attacks and the hijacking of trailer trucks along the Papalanto Ilaro and Owode Idiroko corridors of the state.
Items recovered during the operation include a hijacked trailer truck, nine hundred bags of cement, and a locally made single barrel pistol.
The arrest was disclosed in a press release issued by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Command, DSP Oluseyi B. Babaseyi, on Thursday in Abeokuta.
According to the statement, the Commissioner of Police ordered operatives of the Anti Robbery Squad attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Eleweran, to deploy intelligence assets, intensify surveillance, and discreetly track the criminal network through coordinated intelligence led operations.
Following sustained intelligence gathering, covert surveillance, and crime pattern analysis, detectives identified and penetrated the syndicate, leading to the arrest of eight key suspects.
Those arrested were identified as Mogaji Sodiq, also known as Ogbonṣ, Adebowale Lekan, Ajah Peter, Ganiyu Razaq, Odeleye Ayoola, Egboja Amos, Bello Akeem, and Olaifa Sunday. The suspects were apprehended at different locations across the state based on actionable intelligence.
Police investigations revealed that the suspects had already moved the hijacked trailer truck, with a large quantity of the stolen cement taken to a warehouse.
Operatives were said to have tracked the location and recovered the cement before further operations led to the recovery of the locally made firearm used by the gang.
The Command stated that preliminary investigations showed that the syndicate had carried out similar criminal operations in the past, targeting commercial supply chains within the state.
Efforts are ongoing to track and arrest other fleeing members of the gang, while investigations continue to dismantle the wider criminal network and identify accomplices.
The suspects, according to the police, will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
Reiterating its commitment to intelligence led policing and the protection of lives and property, the Ogun State Police Command assured residents that sustained operations against organised crime would continue across the state.
The Command also urged members of the public to report suspicious activities through its emergency and complaint lines.
