Police Raid Criminal Hideouts, Arrest 65-Year-Old Man, Six Others; Recover Army Uniform, Ammunition Shells, Cannabis in Anambra

By Our Reporter

The Anambra State Police Command has intensified its crackdown on criminal hideouts across the state, arresting seven suspects, including a 65-year-old man allegedly linked to a group agitating for self-government, and recovering an Army uniform, expended ammunition shells and substances suspected to be cannabis and other illicit drugs.

The arrests followed separate intelligence-led raids conducted on Thursday, August 13, 2026, by operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit in Umudioka, Dunukofia Local Government Area, and Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government Area. The operation was carried out as part of the Command’s intensified campaign against violent crime, cultism and illicit drug activities.

The Command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed that the arrests in a statement on Friday. According to him, operatives acting on credible intelligence apprehended 65-year-old man, Ifeanyi Ogbuagbo at his residence in Umudioka.

“A search of the premises allegedly led to the recovery of an Army uniform and expended ammunition shells concealed inside a black polythene bag”, Ikenga said, adding that preliminary findings indicated that Ogbuagbo was allegedly linked to a criminal gang involved in agitation for self-government.

“The suspect has been taken into custody for investigation, while efforts are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the recovered items and his alleged activities,” he said.

In a separate operation later that evening, police operatives raided a suspected criminal hideout in Ekwulobia, Aguata LGA, where six suspects were arrested. They were identified as Chisom Okafor, 25; Onyedika Moses, 36; Iruka Nwaonu, 30; Joseph Nwankwo, 36; Chukwujekwu Nwoso, 32; and Akanimo Orok, 40. Police said a sizeable quantity of dried weeds suspected to be Cannabis Sativa, alongside other substances suspected to be illicit drugs, was recovered during the operation.

The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, said the command would sustain intelligence-led operations, strategic patrols and coordinated raids aimed at dismantling criminal networks and disrupting illicit drug activities across the state.

He directed that raids on criminal hideouts, drug-selling points and other identified areas of criminal activity be intensified and sustained, stressing the need to deny criminals safe havens within Anambra.

The latest operation comes amid heightened security concerns in parts of Anambra, with the police command maintaining pressure on suspected criminal networks through targeted operations based on intelligence.

The suspects remain in custody as investigations continue, while police authorities said further action would be taken based on the outcome of the investigations.
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