By Laureta Akpan
Further information reaching CrossRiveWatch from the Police Headquarters, Diamond Hill, Calabar have broken down the sequence of events that led to the rounding up of the gang that kidnapped a Lebanese in Calabar and demanded N50million Naira ransom to secure his release.
Our source in the police headquarters, who pleaded anonymity told us that: “A certain man was abducted by armed men three weeks ago in Calabar and dispossessed of N600,000 at gun point. He was driven round and dumped at a location in Calabar from where he proceeded to incident the matter at the Airport police station. The man was smart enough to recognize the color and number plate of the car the robbers used.
“Last week, which was over three weeks after the incident, the man spotted the car driving past somewhere in town and alerted the police. Detectives moved into action and trailed the vehicle until it was arrested along with the driver. When the driver was questioned, it was discovered that the driver that was arrested is not the person that drove the car on the night the victim was abducted and robbed.
“But the driver led detectives to the house of the person who drove the car on the night of the incident. That was Thursday last week. The operation was led by an ASP and on getting to the house located at Ikorinim 2, in Calabar here, the house was cordoned off by our men and the occupants refused to open the door. The ASP forced the door open and all the occupants escaped into the ceiling. Our men ordered them to come down from the ceiling and threatened to burn down the house if they don’t obey while others were searching the apartment.
“When one of our men kicked a mattress that was on the floor, they first of all saw the legs of a bounded man on the floor. Upon release, the man turned out to be a Lebanese who had been kidnapped and fifty million Naira was been requested as ransom to secure his release. His case had already been reported to the police.
“Six persons and not ten like your medium reported, where later arrested from the house including a serving Police Corporal with the Airport police station who led the operation to kidnap the Lebanese, his name is Corporal Ubi alongside the son of a retired police officer, CSP Arikpo.”
CrossRiverWatch gathered that the six suspects are presently in detention at the police headquarters in Calabar.
Our source who pleaded that his identity must not be exposed promised to keep us updated as events unfold on the matter.
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