The Delta State Police Command has recorded fresh breakthroughs in its ongoing crackdown on cultism, kidnapping, and violent crime across the state, including the rescue of a kidnapped three-year-old girl and the recovery of firearms.
According to a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, operatives of the Command Anti-Vice Squad (CAVS), Sector 2, Ughelli, rescued the child after arresting a suspect identified as Kelvin Ogaga.
Police said the victim’s father reported on May 18, 2026, that his daughter had been abducted by a commercial motorcyclist who was responsible for taking the child to school daily. Investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly kidnapped the girl and demanded a ransom of ₦500,000 from the family.
The family later paid the ransom to secure the child’s release before police operatives, acting on credible intelligence, stormed the suspect’s hideout in Ughelli and arrested him.
Items recovered from the suspect included ₦127,000 believed to be part of the ransom money, valuables allegedly bought with proceeds of the crime, and the motorcycle reportedly used in carrying out the abduction. The suspect remains in custody while investigations continue.
In a separate operation, operatives of the Department of Operations’ Buffalo Team recovered a Beretta pistol during a stop-and-search patrol along the Power Line axis near Bonsaac.
Police said officers sighted a suspicious man carrying a black bag, who fled immediately after noticing the patrol team. Although the suspect escaped, he abandoned the bag during the chase. A search later led to the recovery of one Beretta pistol and an iPhone.
The Command said efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspect and determine the circumstances surrounding the recovery.
Meanwhile, operatives attached to Ozoro Division also arrested a suspected cultist identified as Michael Monday during a township patrol along Omovutotu Street in Ozoro.
Police said the suspect attempted to escape on sighting the patrol team, but was intercepted. A search conducted on a black handbag in his possession reportedly led to the recovery of a locally made cut-to-size single-barrelled gun and one cartridge.
Preliminary investigations linked the suspect to the Supreme Vikings Confraternity, popularly known as “Aro Bagger.”
The Commissioner of Police, Yemi Oyeniyi, commended the operatives for their swift response and reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to tackling crime and ensuring public safety across the state.
He also stressed the importance of stop-and-search operations as a proactive policing strategy that has contributed to the recovery of illegal firearms, while urging residents to promptly report suspicious persons and activities to the police.
