The police in Ekiti State have rescued a man who was abducted from his house at Iye Ekiti in the Ilejemeje Council Area of the state by gunmen numbering about eight, who drove to the residence in two cars.

The police have also arrested a man suspected to be a drug baron in a hideout in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, where items suspected to be illegal drugs were recovered.

The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Tunde Mobayo, made the disclosure in separate statements by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, titled, “Ekiti Command RRS rescues kidnapping victim, recovers cars,’ and ‘RRS arrests drugs baron, recovers narcotics, others.’

Mobayo, who said police received a distressed call at about 6.30pm when the victim, Segun Alabi, was abducted at Iye Ekiti, stated, “The the suspected kidnappers, after a while, started calling through a particular GSM number, demanding for ransom from the victim’s family.

“Upon receipt of the information, the Rapid Response Squad swung into action, trailed the suspected kidnappers to their hideouts. On sighting the RRS operatives, the suspected kidnappers took to their heels, abandoning the victim and two Toyota Camry cars.

“The victim was rescued and the two abandoned cars recovered while effort is ongoing to ensure the arrest of the fleeing suspects,” he said.

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The police commissioner also disclosed that RRS received a tip on Friday that a group of hoodlums suspected to be armed robbers were in the Atikankan Area of Ado Ekiti following which the law enforcement agents mobilised to the scene which is one of the known blackspots in Ado Ekiti.

“On sighting the operatives, the hoodlums took to their heels, but one of them identified as Ojo Fadeyi Femi was arrested. The scene was searched and items such as 43 wraps of weed suspected to be Indian hemp, 40 wraps of white powder suspected to be cocaine, two sharp cutlasses and N52,750 cash were recovered.

“The arrested suspect claimed ownership of the exhibits recovered and also confessed to being a drug baron, while effort has been activated to arrest the suspects at large,” he said.

Mobayo, while lauding the swift response and efforts of the RRS and other operatives of the command, implored residents “to be vigilant and supply timely and credible information to the security operatives that will lead to the arrest of criminal elements in the state.”