The Delta State Police Command has rescued a kidnapped woman in Sapele and arrested eight suspects in Abraka, recovering three locally made pistols and suspected illicit drugs in separate operations across the state.
The breakthroughs, according to the Command, form part of intensified intelligence-led operations targeting kidnappers, violent criminals, cultists and other criminal elements.
The kidnapped woman was rescued after armed men ambushed her at about 7:45 p.m. on September 2, 2026, while she was attempting to drive into her residence along Eko-Amukpe Road, Sapele.
The attackers reportedly fired several shots into the air before abducting her and taking her into a nearby bush.
Following the distress report, the Divisional Police Officer, Sapele Division, immediately mobilised patrol and surveillance teams to the area. Operatives recovered expended AK-47 ammunition shells at the scene and, with support from local vigilantes, launched an intensive search of the surrounding bushes.
The operation continued throughout the night and into the morning of September 3, putting sustained pressure on the kidnappers and forcing them to abandon their victim and flee.
The woman was subsequently found and rescued unharmed before being reunited with her family.
The Police Command said efforts had been intensified to identify and apprehend the fleeing kidnappers.
In a separate operation in Abraka, operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), acting on credible intelligence during an investigation into an alleged attempted murder reported on September 3, raided identified criminal black spots in the area.
Eight suspects were arrested during the operation.
They were identified as Evans Adamda, Mamatime Micheal, Wale Morakinya, Anabono, Godspower, Theophilus Philip, Robinson Oghenewiro and Inoni Ejiroghene.
Police said the operation also led to the recovery of three locally made pistols, Tramadol and other suspected illicit drugs.
The suspects and recovered exhibits are currently in police custody as investigators work to establish their individual roles in the alleged attempted murder and other criminal activities in the area.
The Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Samuel E. Erale, commended the police operatives and local vigilantes for their efforts, reaffirming the Command’s determination to sustain intelligence-driven operations against criminal elements.
Erale said the Command would continue to identify criminal hideouts, apprehend offenders and recover illicit firearms and other dangerous exhibits.
He also urged residents to support the police by providing timely and credible information that could assist ongoing efforts to prevent crime and apprehend criminals across the state.
