The Anambra State Police Command has arrested seven suspects during separate operations targeting criminal hideouts across the state, recovering an Army uniform, spent ammunition shells and substances suspected to be illicit drugs.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Ikenga Tochukwu, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday.
According to Ikenga, operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), acting on intelligence, arrested 65-year-old Ifeanyi Ogbuagbo in Umudioka on Thursday evening, August 13, 2026.
A search of his residence allegedly led to the discovery of an Army uniform and expended ammunition shells hidden inside a black polythene bag.
“Preliminary information reveals that the suspect is linked to a criminal gang agitating for self government,” Ikenga stated.
He said Ogbuagbo had been taken into custody while investigators worked to determine the source of the recovered items and establish his alleged connection with the group.
In another operation carried out the same day, police raided a suspected criminal hideout in Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government Area, following information about alleged criminal activities at the location.
Six suspects were arrested during the operation. They were identified as 25-year-old Chisom Okafor, 36-year-old Onyedika Moses, 30-year-old Iruka Nwaonu, 36-year-old Joseph Nwankwo, 32-year-old Chukwujekwu Nwoso and 40-year-old Akanimo Orok.
Police said a large quantity of dried leaves suspected to be Cannabis Sativa, along with other substances suspected to be illicit drugs, was recovered from the hideout.
The command said the operations were part of its ongoing efforts to tackle violent crime, cultism, drug-related offences and organised criminal activities across Anambra.
The operations, according to the police, are being conducted in line with directives from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, as part of efforts to strengthen intelligence-led policing.
The Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, directed officers to maintain sustained raids, strategic patrols and intelligence-driven operations aimed at disrupting criminal networks and denying offenders access to hideouts across the state.
He further ordered the command to intensify operations around suspected drug-selling points and other locations identified as criminal hotspots.
The police said all seven suspects remain in custody as investigations into the cases continue.
