The Delta State Police Command says it achieved significant breakthroughs in crime-fighting during July 2025, disrupting kidnapping syndicates, arresting cultists, seizing arms, and clamping down on internet fraud networks.

Commissioner of Police, Abaniwonda Olufemi, told journalists in Asaba that the command maintained “continuous, proactive, intelligence-driven and community policing” to make the state “a hot spot for criminals.”

On July 30, operatives from the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Squad, working with soldiers from the 63 Brigade, stormed a suspected kidnappers’ hideout in Ogwashi-Ukwu forest, rescuing two abducted female polytechnic students. Two suspects were killed in a gun battle, and an AK-47 rifle, 39 rounds of live ammunition, and ₦3.5 million believed to be ransom money were recovered.

In another operation on July 27, a combined police team arrested suspected kidnapper Chiadiji Collins, 42, and his accomplice, recovering two pump-action guns, an AK-47 rifle, and 40 rounds of ammunition.

The police also dismantled a syndicate allegedly planning high-profile kidnappings in Sapele and Oghara, arresting gang leader Owei Abebo, 42, and several associates.

Recovered exhibits included 247 rounds of SMG ammunition and fetish items believed to be used for criminal fortification.

On July 21, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, police raided an Effurun location, arresting 184 people suspected of internet fraud. Recovered items included 273 laptops, 97 smartphones, and other electronic devices.

The CP said the command foiled a fake kidnapping in Asaba involving a bride-to-be who conspired with accomplices to extort ₦3 million from her brother, allegedly to cover wedding expenses.

Other notable arrests included suspected cultists plotting attacks on Delta State Polytechnic students, drug dealers in Afisere, a 20-year-old alleged Eiye confraternity leader caught with a pistol, and multiple armed robbery suspects killed or apprehended in shootouts along Patani–Ughelli Expressway and other locations.

Abaniwonda reiterated the command’s commitment to “relentless intelligence-led operations” to protect lives and property across Delta State.