The police command in Edo State has arrested a suspected member of a kidnapping syndicate and recovered the body of one of three women abducted.

The command’s spokesperson, ASP Eno Ikoedem, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Benin City.

She said the victims were abducted from their residence in Iyowa community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area of the state.

She said that the suspect, 23, was arrested following intelligence-led operations by the command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) and Drone Unit.

According to her, the victims; Favour Nosakhare, 66, Emmanuel Annabel Osasere, 28, and Rejoice Otikpere, 26, were abducted on May 9, when armed men invaded their residence.

The police’s spokesperson said the kidnappers later contacted the victims’ relatives through a video call, during which the women were allegedly flogged and tortured while ransom was demanded.

She said the development prompted intensified rescue efforts by operatives.

She explained that the operatives used aerial surveillance, intelligence gathering and tactical operations across forests and suspected criminal hideouts in Ovia North-East and neighbouring areas.

She added that the operatives tracked the gang to a forest along a powerline corridor on May 19 and engaged the suspects in a gun battle.

”The suspects engaged the police in a fierce gun duel but were overwhelmed by the superior firepower of the operatives and fled into the bush with gunshot injuries,” she said.

She disclosed that police recovered a blood-stained jacket and expended AK-47 ammunition from the scene, while surveillance operations were intensified.

She said that the breakthrough, led to the arrest of the suspect found with a gunshot injury and allegedly confessed to being a member of a notorious kidnapping syndicate operating along the Benin-Lagos and Old Benin-Akure road corridors.

She explained that the suspect subsequently led investigators to a forest in Ogwa community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area, where two decomposing bodies were recovered on Tuesday.

She noted that one of the bodies was identified by relatives as that of Nosakhare, one of the women abducted during the May 9 incident.

She added that efforts were ongoing to identify the second body and apprehend other members of the gang still at large.

She quoted the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, as commending the VCRU and Drone Unit operatives for their professionalism and resilience.

Mr Agbonika assured residents that the command would sustain intelligence-driven operations until all members of the syndicate were arrested and brought to justice.

He also appealed to members of the public to continue supporting the police with timely and credible information to enhance security across the state.(NAN)