A suspected kingpin of kidnappers operating in Kaduna state, Hassan Saleh aka Yellow, has been arrested. Police said the gang leader was arrested deep inside Rijana forest in Kaduna along with two of his members.
Those arrested along with Yellow by operatives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Intelligence Response Team (IRT) are Abdulahi Usman, 34, and Zaiyanu Bello, 25. Force Public Relation Officer, Moshood Jimoh, who confirmed the arrest, said Yellow sustained severe bullet injuries during a shootout with the police team.
Jimoh said the police team while acting on credible information on the whereabouts of the gang members, stormed their hideout.
He said that, the criminals opened fire immediately sighting the combined team of IRT officers and Vigilante men.
He said: “The deadly kidnappers open fire on the teams who returned fire and fatally wounded the gang leader, Hassan Saleh aka Yellow. The team also arrested one Abdulahi Usman, 34, who hails from Rijana village Kaduna state and Zaiyanu Bello, 25, a native of Kauru in Katsina state. They also recovered an AK47 rifle while other gang members escaped.”
He said that the suspects have all confessed to several kidnappings along Abuja-Kaduna Highway. “They also mentioned other gang members at large. Serious efforts in progress to get the remaining gang members and bring them to justice.” Jimoh added.
