The Kaduna State Police Command has arrested one bandit who tried to bribe its DPO with N1 million.
This was disclosed to newsmen by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Mamsir Hassan, who explained that the money for the bribe was part of the ransom the police collected from the bandit at a hotel in the Tafa community.
He said the Divisional headquarters received credible information that the suspect had located at Easyway hotel in Tafa town. The DPO led Operatives to stormed the hotel and arrested 28-year-old Bello Muhammad from Zamfara State.
They also recovered from him N2,350,000:00, believed to be money earned from kidnapping businesses.
He said the suspect confessed he is a notorious kidnapper that works for his gang in Kagarko forest of Kaduna.
He had alleged that the N1 million was his share from a ransom they collected. He said the suspect’s mobile phone confirmed his confession as there were pictures of him in a forest holding an AK47 rifle.
The CP also urged hoteliers, providers of recreation and leisure services in the state to always check the identity of their customers in order to prevent the infiltration of criminals into their hides.
The statement by Hassan in part reads, “On January 19, 2024, at about 2200 hours, the said Divisional Headquarters received credible information regarding the presence of a suspicious person in the Easyway hotel in Tafa town. Operatives led by the Divisional Police Officer stormed the hotel and arrested a certain 28-year-old Bello Muhammad from the state of Zamfara and recovered the sum of two million, three hundred and fifty thousand naira (N2,350,000.00) suspected to be proceeds of kidnapping.”.
“During the course of investigation, the suspect confessed to being an operative kidnapper who operates with his gang around Kagarko Forest in Kaduna State.
“The mentioned sum is his own share of the ransom collected.
“In fact, a check on his mobile phone corroborated the suspect’s confession, as pictures of him brandishing an AK47 rifle in a forest were retrieved. The said suspect, Bello Muhammad, thus offered a million-naira backhander to the DPO to stop him furthering the investigation, which the police officer forthwith rejected. Investigation is still ongoing as the suspect is assisting the police with vital information.”