The Kaduna Police Command has arrested a notorious bandit allegedly terrorising the state and Katsina after 11 years on the run.

The command’s spokesperson, DSP Mansir Hassan, confirmed the incident in a statement on Friday in Kaduna.

Mr Hassan said, “On Friday, 5:30 a.m., acting on credible intelligence, a team of detectives led by the Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, CSP Sani Zuntu, successfully tracked and arrested the notorious gang leader.

“He is popularly known as Mati Bagio, 34, of Unguwan Galadima of Shika District, Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.”

He explained that the suspect was a notorious bandit leader who terrorised Kaduna and Katsina States along the Giwa, Hunkuyi, Faskari, Dandume, and Funtua Local Government Areas.

Mr Hassan said, “He has been on the run for the past eleven years; he was just apprehended at his residence, where a significant cache of arms and ammunition was recovered.”

He disclosed that the items recovered from the suspects included: one AK-47 rifle, one  fabricated AK-47 rifle, one pump-action gun, two English pistols, two AK-47 magazines, two LAR rifle magazines, and four fabricated AK-47 butts.

Others included four AK-47 ammunition rounds, 10 pomp action ammunition, 87 pistol ammunition, one machete, two torchlights, and one unjamming rod.

Mr Hassan said the suspect was in police custody and would be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation. He added that efforts were ongoing to arrest fleeing gang members.

Mr Hassan also disclosed that on Thursday, at about 2:00 a.m., a distress call was received from the Kaduna command’s control room, reporting the snatching of a black Toyota Prado Jeep at gunpoint in Abuja.

He stated that the vehicle was subsequently tracked and located near Shema Filling Station in Unguwan Gwari, Kaduna.

Mr Hassan said a patrol and surveillance team was immediately sent to the location where the stolen vehicle was recovered. However, the suspect fled upon sighting the police.

According to him, the recovered vehicle has been towed to the station for further investigation and will be handed over to the FCT Police Command, where the incident was initially reported.

The spokesperson also disclosed that on Tuesday, at about 2:00 p.m., a team of operatives led by the Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit swung into action following information regarding the activities of suspected motorcycle thieves.

Mr Hassan explained, “They tracked down and arrested one Yusuf Yakubu of Amana village, Abubakar Jibrin and Mustapha Aliyu at Anguwan Rimi, as well as Yunusa Yusuf from Kujama.”

He said the suspects specialised in attacking, maiming, or killing cyclists and dispossessing them of their motorcycles.

Mr Hassan disclosed that two stolen motorcycles were successfully recovered during the operation.

He said the Commissioner of Police(CP), Rabiu Muhammad, urged the public to continue cooperating with the police by providing credible information.

(NAN)