The Anambra State Police Command has arrested four suspected members of a robbery syndicate said to specialise in snatching phones and valuables from unsuspecting residents in Awka and Ifite.
Spokesperson for the command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the arrest in a statement issued on Tuesday.
He said the suspects were apprehended by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad in the early hours of Monday during a patrol along the Agu Awka–Ifite axis.
The suspects were identified as 19-year-old Nnaji Chidera, 21-year-old Chijioke Mmaduabuchi, 19-year-old Wisdom Ogbonna, and 20-year-old Afamefuna Egbe.
Items recovered from them include nine mobile phones — among them an iPhone belonging to one of their victims — a laptop, two tricycles with registration numbers LSD 464 QP and BLF 552 VH, four additional tricycle plate numbers, and a substance suspected to be hard drugs.
According to the police, the gang admitted belonging to a syndicate that has been targeting students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University and other residents within the Awka axis.
They also confessed that they frequently swapped tricycle plate numbers to disguise their operations.
Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Ikioye Orutugu, commended the operatives for their swift action and warned that the command would continue to clamp down on criminals across the state.
He further urged young people to shun crime, stressing that offenders would face the full weight of the law.