The police command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) says it raided some criminal hideouts along the Dei-Dei -Zuba axis of the territory and arrested 307 suspects.

The Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the FCT, Benneth Igweh, said this during a media briefing on Monday in Abuja.

He said the suspects, consisting of 293 males and 14 females, were arrested when he led the tactical team of the command to raid the hideouts on Sunday.

Mr Igweh said the team compromised personnel of the newly-inaugurated “Operation Velvet”, initiated to raid marked black spots in the territory.

The CP said the suspects were arrested in a marked black spot, “Gidan Dambe”, in the Dei-Dei-Zuba axis, where kidnappers from Niger, Kaduna, and other communities usually meet to relax.

He said one English pistol with 15 rounds of live ammunition was recovered from one of the suspects, who claimed to be personnel of the State Security Service (SSS).

Mr Igweh said pistols, motorcycles, drugs of different makes, illicit substances, suspected to be Indian hemp, handsets of different makes, and other dangerous weapons were recovered from the suspects.

He said valuables suspected of being stolen from innocent residents were also recovered.

The CP said the suspects would be charged to court upon completion of screening and investigation.

Mr Igweh warned those operating illegal “Gidan Dambe” in the FCT to desist from harbouring criminals or be ready to face the law. 

(NAN)