Operatives of the Bauchi State Police Command have arrested three suspected armed robbers after one of them inadvertently left his mobile phone behind at the scene of a robbery operation.
The suspects were tracked down following a complaint by one Everest Jonathan, who reported that five armed men invaded his residence along Jos Road, Bauchi, and carted away several valuable items.
Confirming the arrest in a statement on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ahmed Mohammed, said detectives led by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Holman Simon, swiftly visited the scene to assess the extent of damage and loss.
According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that one of the suspects, identified as 20-year-old Alhassan Jibrin, popularly known as Babani Biri, mistakenly left his Android phone at the crime scene.
“The phone served as a vital lead, enabling our operatives to trace and apprehend his accomplices — Lawan Adamu of Wayan Makafi, Lawan Idris, 20, of Behind Old Airport, and Muhammad Yau, 22, alias Madugu, of Behind Emir’s Palace, all residents of Bauchi,” the statement read.
During interrogation, the suspects reportedly confessed to the crime.
Items recovered from them include a travelling bag, two sets of clothes, two pairs of sneakers, two cutlasses, an Android phone, a keypad phone, and two torchlights.
Mohammed added that efforts were ongoing to arrest the two fleeing gang members, while the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation, on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, CP Sani-Omolori Aliyu.