Rita Enemuru Reporting
THE Delta State Police Command says it has arrested five suspects and recovered four locally made single-barrelled guns, three vehicles, three motorcycles and a large quantity of suspected stolen property in separate operations across the state.
The command disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, by its Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe.
According to the statement, the operations were conducted in Orerokpe, Ekpan and Agbor on 19 September.
In the first operation, operatives of the Orerokpe Division, working with members of the Civilian Anti-Cult group in Osubi, intercepted two Toyota Sienna vehicles allegedly conveying musical equipment under suspicious circumstances along the Warri-Sapele Road.
The occupants reportedly fled on sighting the police, but a 45-year-old man, Lawrence Onowenakpo, was arrested.
A search of the vehicles allegedly led to the recovery of three locally made single-barrelled long guns and one live cartridge.
The police said that during preliminary interrogation, Onowenakpo allegedly identified one Ajeh Zephaniah, also known as Fanta, as the gang leader.
According to the command, Zephaniah had previously been arrested and arraigned in connection with an armed robbery case before being granted bail on health grounds.
Further investigation reportedly took the joint team to a scrap yard in Warri, which the police said was suspected to be the gang’s operational base.
The police said three motorcycles, 22 air-conditioning units, 13 washing machines, 29 motorcycle and tricycle engines, musical equipment, television sets, a generator, a laptop and other items suspected to have been stolen were recovered from the location.
The command said preliminary investigation had linked the alleged gang to recent armed robberies within the Kwale and Warri areas.
It added that efforts were ongoing to arrest Zephaniah and other members of the group who were said to be at large.
In a separate operation at Ekpan, police operatives responded to a distress call at about 6.40pm on 19 September concerning a man allegedly threatening people around the Scrap Yard axis of Effurun-Sapele Road.
The operatives arrested 23-year-old Meshach Onovoisa and allegedly recovered a locally made single-barrelled gun from him.
The police said the suspect allegedly admitted during preliminary interrogation that he was involved in armed robbery. Investigation into the case is ongoing.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Agbor Division, acting on what the command described as credible intelligence, arrested three men who were allegedly attempting to dispose of a Hijet mini bus without valid documents.
The suspects were identified as 20-year-old Agbaja Promise, 25-year-old Emmanuel Ovieh and 25-year-old Odiri Dama, all from Benin City, Edo State.
According to the police, the trio were allegedly attempting to sell the vehicle, with registration number BEN-485-XH, for ₦300,000.
The vehicle was recovered and its alleged rightful owner was subsequently identified and contacted, while investigation continues.
The Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Samuel E. Erale, commended the police operatives and members of the public whose cooperation, according to the command, contributed to the operations.
Erale reiterated the command’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks across Delta State and urged residents to continue providing the police with credible and timely information.
