Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested four suspected kidnappers allegedly responsible for several abductions in parts of Rivers State.

Police authorities said the suspects had been terrorising residents in Ikwerre Local Government Area and Etche Local Government Area before their arrest.

According to the command’s spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, the suspects were apprehended by operatives of the Anti-Cultism Unit along Ipo/Ozaha Farm Road while allegedly preparing to carry out another kidnapping operation.

She explained that the arrest followed investigations into the abduction of a woman, Miss Favour Chika, who was kidnapped on February 25 while heading to her farm in the Igwuruta community and later released after her family reportedly paid a ransom of ₦3 million.

Police said the suspects also confessed to other kidnapping incidents, including the abduction of engineer Okoro Osita and his friend along the Port Harcourt International Airport Road. The victims were eventually freed after their families paid millions of naira as ransom.

Items recovered from the suspects during a search include a locally made pistol, a cut-to-size single-barrel gun and 20 live cartridges.

Further investigations revealed that the suspects were allegedly involved in multiple kidnapping operations across communities such as Igwuruta-Ali, Omagwa, Ozaha, Ipo and parts of Etche.

The state Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adewole Adepoju, commended the officers involved in the operation and assured residents that efforts are ongoing to track down other members of the criminal gang still at large.

He also urged members of the public to continue providing useful information to security agencies to help curb crime in the state.