Niger: Police arrest four suspects, recover toy guns, ATM cards, stolen vehicle

The Niger State Police Command has arrested four suspects in separate operations, recovering three plastic pistols, 16 ATM cards and a vehicle allegedly stolen in Lapai, Lapai local government area of the state.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Abiodun said a surveillance patrol team attached to the Tudun-Wada Division arrested Zaradeen Sani, 19, of Bosso, and Yakubu Abdullahi, 20, of Maitumbi, at about 11 p.m. on July 14 along the M.I. Wushishi Estate Junction in Minna.

He said the suspects were intercepted in a tricycle, and a search led to the recovery of three plastic pistols and 16 expired ATM cards belonging to different banks

.

According to the police, the suspects claimed the ATM cards were picked from the ground while scavenging in Lagos.

However, Police investigators suspect they had been using the toy guns to rob unsuspecting residents around the M.I. Wushishi Estate area.

In a separate operation, police took over two suspected car thieves from the Kano State Police Command after they allegedly confessed to stealing a Volkswagen vehicle in Lapai, Niger State.

The suspects, identified as Dauda Saidu, 23, of Dindare village in Tofa area of Kaduna State, and Hassan Aliyu, 28, of Faki, Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State, allegedly admitted stealing the vehicle about six months ago at Maraban-Gulu via Lapai.

The Police PRO  said the suspects took the vehicle to Kaduna State, where they allegedly used it for commercial transportation between Kaduna and Kano and in other criminal activities.

The stolen Volkswagen has since been recovered, while efforts are ongoing to trace its rightful owner.

SP Abiodun further stated that both cases are under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).