By Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

The operatives of Rapid Response Squad (RRS), attached to the Abia State Command of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested a male armed robbery suspect identified as Onyekachi Kalu.

Our correspondent gathered that Kalu, in the company of a member of his gang that is at large were dispossessing innocent road users of their belongings including cash and other valuables along the popular Orji Uzor Kalu Bridge in Aba South Local Government Area of the state in the night of their arrest, at about 8:30 pm.

Luck was said to have run out on them when operatives of the RRS on patrol in the area ran into them as they were dispossessing a male victim of his belongings.

It was gathered that upon noticing the presence of the RRS team, Kalu and his gang member threw away what they have on them and ran into the nearby bush.

The RRS team reportedly went after the duo and arrested Kalu while his partner escaped.

The RRS team was said to have recovered some of the items including cash suspected to have been stolen from innocent victims by the duo.

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A police source who confided in our correspondent said that the suspects confessed to the crime, adding that an empty commercial tricycle with registration number Abia UMA 248 UW believed to belong to the gang was recovered by the team some distance from the scene of the incident.

In another development, a suspected kidnapper identified as Tochukwu Nnamdi is cooling off his heels at the facility of the RRS headquarters in Aba.

Nnamdi, an indigene of Isiala Okpu in Okpulumuobo Autonomous Community in Osisioma LGA of the State was said to have been arrested in the early hours of Thursday (today) by the RRS team in front of his compound.

Nnamdi was said to have been arrested after a businessman, a stockfish dealer made a complaint to the RRS team over Nnamdi’s persistent calls to his mobile number, claiming that some people were planning to kidnap him.

“Nnamdi stole the Sim card of his friend called Nonso. It was while he was going through the contacts in the Sim for possible target(s) that he came across the name of the businessman and upon suspicion that the man could be a potential target, he called the man, telling him that some people were planning his kidnap.

“That he should select two or three widows in his church and give them seed of 1,000 each as part of spiritual exercise to avert the planned kidnap which he (businessman) did as Nnamdi instructed.

“Nnamdi again called the businessman to pay into his account the sum of N10, 500 for some hot drinks, which the man did, thinking that Nnamdi was genuine.

“Nnamdi after receiving the said sum continued pestering the stockfish dealer with calls which promoted him (businessman) to formally Lodge a complaint.”

Acting on the complainant’s complaint, the RRS personnel were said to have swung into action, leading to the arrest of Nnamdi.

Investigation was said to have been on going to ascertain if Nnamdi was working with a kidnap syndicate or that he was acting alone.

The owner of the SIM card stolen by Nnamdi was said to have been unaware that his friend was the person that stole his missing SIM card.