The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has announced a major security breakthrough following an intensified statewide operation against criminal networks.
The crackdown resulted in the recovery of 69 firearms, the arrest of 178 suspects linked to various violent crimes, and the successful rescue of 27 victims of kidnapping and human trafficking.
Addressing journalists at the Command Headquarters in Ikot Akpan Abia, Uyo, on Monday, the Commissioner of Police, Baba Mohammed Azare, disclosed that these milestone achievements were recorded through sustained, intelligence-led operations.
He emphasized that the successes were the direct outcome of coordinated raids, strategic surveillance activities, rigorous stop-and-search exercises, and tactical interventions across identified flashpoints.
According to the police chief, the targeted operations focused heavily on curbing armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, illegal possession of firearms, drug trafficking, burglary, and other violent crimes.
CP Azare stressed that the command remains resolutely determined to dismantle criminal syndicates and make Akwa Ibom State entirely unsafe for illicit elements.
Among the most significant breakthroughs highlighted by the command was the arrest of an alleged drug kingpin, identified as Francis Akpan.
He was apprehended alongside four suspected accomplices during a high-stakes, intelligence-driven raid at Okobo Ebughu in the Mbo Local Government Area of the state.
During the raid on the kingpin’s residence, police operatives recovered 23 large bags containing dried weeds suspected to be Indian hemp.
Additionally, law enforcement officers seized a motorcycle and several dismantled outboard boat engines, all believed to be heavily linked to ongoing criminal activities in the riverine areas.
