One dead, N3.1m recovered in Akwa Ibom police gun duel with kidnap gang

UYO – POLICE in Akwa Ibom state have neutralised a member of a suspected criminal gang allegedly responsible for a series of high-profile kidnaps in Ikot Ekpene, Essien Udim and surrounding areas of the state.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO),2 Akwa Ibom Command, DSP Timfon John, in a statement on the development Monday, said ₦3,130,600 believed to be ransom proceed was also recovered from the said notorious gang.

According to the PPRO, the gang member died among five suspects arrested with injuries during a gun duel with the police while trying to evade arrest.

John narrated, “Acting on intelligence, a joint tactical team of the Command stormed multiple criminal hideouts at Ikpe Annang, Ikpe Ikot Akpan, and Ikot Inyang in Essien Udim Local Government Area.

“Sighting the operatives, the suspects opened fire in a desperate bid to evade arrest. The officers responded, engaging them in a gun duel. At the end of the operation, all five suspects sustained various degrees of injuries and were taken to the hospital where one of them died while receiving treatment.”

Other items recovered from the suspects, she listed, include an AK-47 rifle, one G3 rifle, one pump-action rifle, one dane gun, one tambourine and an electric power amplifier, as investigations continue for the arrest of other fleeing suspects.