Bullion van attack: Abia police nab ex-DSS officer, brother, 8 others

Abia State Police command on Monday paraded a dismissed official of the Department of State Services, DSS Prosper Israel, his younger brother Chinwendu Israel along with with eight others for robbing a billion van loaded with cash, ABN TV reports.

In his confessional statement, Mr. Prosper Israel said he was dismissed from DSS in 2007 after his service at Government House Abia State ended in 2007.

According to the Ugwunagbo born robber, before he could return to his station, he was tried and summarily dismissed in absentia.

He said his younger brother along with his “colleagues” brought money are shared in his house and gave him part of it. On whether he was aware that his brother was into robbery, he answered in affirmative.

He said he regrets his action, appealing for forgiveness.

ABN TV reports that the robbery gang had on 26 July 2022, waylaid the bullion van being escorted by the the Police along Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway near Ntigha Junction in Isiala Ngwa North L.G.A of Abia State, killing the cash officer on the spot.

Parading the suspects at Abia State Police command headquarters in Umuahia, the state Commissioner of Police, CP Janet Agbede said the sum of 10,184,000.00 was recovered from the gang.

CP Janet Agbede

According to the police boss, the arrest of the suspects follows a careful study of “their modus operandi and set up a special intelligence technologically led investigation squad (ITLIS) with a clear directive to arrest and recover weapons used by the deadly armed robbery gang.”

Other suspects arrested include, Adesoji Adeniyi aka ‘Soji” male from Ondo state, resident and arrested in Lagos State,
Nnamdi Nwaosu aka ‘Prophet’ male from Rivers state, resident and arrested in Imo State and Nwachukwu Albert aka White male (1st Armourer) from Delta state, resident and arrested in Lagos state.

Others are, Felix Ajalaja male from Ondo state, resident and arrested in Rivers state, Moshood Opeyemi aka Abiola male from Osun state resident and arrested in Rivers state, Matthew Christmas aka Aluwa male from Delta state, resident and arrested in Delta State, Azubuike Amaefula aka Zubby male from Abia state, resident and arrested in Rivers state and Monday Samuel aka MD male (2nd Armourer) from Delta state, resident and arrested in Ondo state.

Exhibits recovered from them include, one General purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) with 53 rounds of live ammunition, Thirteen AK47 rifles with 1,749 live ammunition, Two improvised explosive dynamite, One cut to size double barrel gun with 5 live cartridges, and Eighty four (84) AK47 magazines.

Others are, Mercedes Benz mini truck they used in concealing their firearms and Cash of Ten million, one hundred and eighty four thousand naira (N10,184,000.00) only.

“All the above mentioned suspects in their individual voluntary statements confessed belonging to a 14-man awful armed robbery gang with speciality in bullion van attacks and that for about two months before the attack, the Bullion van had been under their surveillance” the CP said.

She advised parents, Guardians, husbands, wives and children to always know the sources of one another’s livelihood.