Ex-DSS officer, nine others arrested for bullion van robbery

The Abia State Police Command has announced the arrest of 10 members of a robbery gang that attacked a bullion van on 26th July, 2022 and carted away about N390 million (N390,000,000).

Commissioner of Police, Janet Agbede made the announcement on Monday while parading the suspects, whom she said belonged to a 14-member gang.

According to the CP, they specialised in bullion van robbery across states in the country, adding that they were apprehended at different times and locations in Abia, Delta, Imo, Lagos, Ondo and Rivers States.

She recalled that a special intelligence squad was set up after the gang ambushed the bullion van around Ntigha Junction on the Isialangwa axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.

The commissioner disclosed that the suspects confessed to the crime “in their individual voluntary statements”.

The police chief said they further confessed to have robbed bullion vans in Ajah in Lagos, Akure Road in Ondo, Asaba in Delta, and Mbaise in Imo.

They suspects revealed that the Abia attack was executed after about two months surveillance on the bullion van.

Among the arrested is a former Department of State Security (DSS) operative known as Prosper Israel.

The other suspects are namely; Adesoji Adeniyi, aka “Soji” and Albert Nwachukwu, aka “White”, who were both arrested in Lagos.

While 3 others, Felix Ajalaja, Moshood Opeyemi, aka “Abiola”, and Azubuike Amaefule, aka “Zubby” were arrested in Rivers.

The other ones who were arrested in Imo, Ondo and Delta are; Nnamdi Nwaosu, aka “Prophet”, Monday Samuel, aka “MD”, and Matthew Christmas, aka “Aluwa”. As well as two brothers from Abia, Chikwendu and Prosper Israel, arrested in the state.

Prosper told journalists that he joined his brother in criminal activities after he was dismissed from DSS.

One General Purpose Machine Gun with 53 rounds of live ammunition, 13 AK47 rifles with 1,749 live ammunition were recovered.

Others were two improvised explosive dynamites, one cut-to-size double barrel gun with five live cartridges, 84 AK47 magazines and Mercedes Benz truck used to conceal the weapons.

Also recovered was N10,184,000 out of the N390million stolen from the bullion van.