The police command in Kano State arrested 132 suspects for alleged kidnapping, armed robbery and illicit drug dealing in two months.

” We have arrested 65 suspected thugs (Yandaba), 22 suspected thieves, 25 suspected drug dealers, 11 kidnapping suspects and nine suspected illegal Forex hawkers from January to date in different parts of the state,” the state commissioner of police Hussaini Gumel told journalists on Friday.

Mr Gumel said the command also arrested motor vehicle thieves, motorcycle thieves, tricycle thieves, human trafficking suspects and suspected fraudsters, among others.

He also revealed that the command rescued four kidnap victims and two human trafficking victims. He said officers recovered two AK-47 rifles, one locally-made pump action and four live cartridges.

Mr Gumel said that from January 1 to date, all forms of major crimes, such as armed robbery, kidnapping, cattle rustling, car theft, drug dealings, and thuggery, had significantly been reduced in the state.

“The previous threats of daylight and night mobile phone armed robbery are now a story of the past with no single record in the last two months.

“The police command has been supported to fight more than two decades of public outcry on cases of missing children, abduction and kidnapping of minors.

” The trend has been significantly surmounted as further efforts were ongoing to recover more and to unite the children with their biological parents,” he said.

Mr Gumel also stated that the command could smash and dismantle trans-border syndicates of motor vehicle thieves by arresting and recovering many vehicles.

On banditry along the 17 front-line state’s border local government areas, Mr Gumel said the command had engaged with the sister security services in a series of raids and joint operations.

He said this had cleared their camps and hideouts through which they were infiltrating the soft target locations, which had significantly reduced banditry, kidnapping and related crimes.

The CP also said the seasonal farmer/ herder clashes in Makoda, Sumaila, and Tudun Wada local government areas had been curtailed with continuous community policing engagements.

(NAN)