By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The operatives of the Anambra State Police Command have recovered two stolen vehicles—one in Obosi and the other in Asaba—barely hours after receiving actionable intelligence on their whereabouts.
Confirming the development in a statement issued on Saturday, July 12, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the recoveries were part of a coordinated and strategic operation led by officers attached to the Ogidi Area Command and the Isiowulu Division, in synergy with vigilante personnel and officers of the Delta State Police Command.
According to the statement, one of the vehicles — a red 2005 Toyota RAV-4 with registration number YAB 122 AZ (Abuja) — was recovered along Fresh Air Hotel Road, near Holy Trinity Catholic Parish in the Odume-Isiowulu area of Obosi. The vehicle was said to have been snatched from its owner by three armed men in Oba during the early hours of Friday, July 11. The vehicle was later found abandoned and was successfully recovered following an intelligence-driven search led by the Divisional Police Officer of Obosi.
In a related breakthrough, another vehiclea school bus belonging to SUSU College—was also recovered in Asaba, Delta State, following a prior theft report made to the Isiowulu Police Division on July 6. The Police Spokesman said, acting on credible intelligence received in the early hours of July 12, operatives of the Anambra Command, in collaboration with their Delta counterparts, traced the stolen school bus to a location opposite the Magistrate Court in Asaba, where it had been abandoned.
He added that, while investigations into the circumstances surrounding both incidents are still ongoing, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, fwc MNIPS PhD, has commended the efforts of the officers involved, as well as the synergy between sister commands. He praised the promptness and effectiveness of the operations and stressed the need for continued inter-agency cooperation in fighting crimes that transcend state boundaries.
CP Orutugu further reiterated the Command’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property across the state, and reassured Ndi Anambra that every credible tip or intelligence offered would continue to receive swift and thorough response.
Efforts, according to the police, are being intensified to track down and arrest the perpetrators of the thefts, while members of the public are encouraged to remain vigilant and continue to support the police with timely and useful information.
