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By Madu Obi
The Anambra State Police has arrested seven suspected cultists and armed robbers in Awka, the state capital.
The command also said it recovered a cut-size double barrel gun, one tricycle without a registration number, and some quantity of hard drugs.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Tochukwu Ikenga gave the names of the suspects as Chukwuemka Ozoekwe (18 years), Chidozie Anagor, (18 years), Chukwuemeka Oyeoka, (18 years), Ebuka Okoye (17 years), Olisa Obi, (19 years), Chidubem Nwakwu (20 years) and Nwankwo Kosisochukwu.
According to the PPRO, one Makuo Nwosu (a k a Baby) and one other unidentified person have been declared wanted.
Ikenga said police operatives attached to the Special Anti-Cult Squad, SPACS, while on patrol at the popular Unizik Junction, Awka, intercepted all the five occupants, including the driver, of a tricycle.
He said that in a bid by the security operatives to question them, the occupants of the tricycle took to their heels, while Chukwuemka Ozoekwe was arrested.
According to him, Chukwuemeka later led the Police to their den where Chidozie Anagor and Chukwuemeka Oyeoka were arrested, adding that Ebuka Okoye, Olisa Obi, Chidubem Nwakwu and Nwankwo Kosisochukwu were later arrested.
"During interrogation, the suspects confessed being members of the Vipers cult group and they are one of the gangs terrorizing Awka metropolis in recent time. The suspects also confessed that they were on a mission to rob the road users of their phones and personal belongings before they were arrested," the PPRO said.
He said that the Acting Commissioner of Police, DCP Fidelis Ogarabe, has charged the operatives to sustain the tempo in the fight against crime in the state, assuring Anambra people that the confidence reposed on the police and all the security agencies in the state shall not be taken for granted.
He said that the Acting CP has also assured that the suspects should be charged to court on the conclusion of the investigations.
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