Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested six electricity transformer vandals and thieves, recovering a stolen 1,000KVA transformer worth ₦52 million.
This was disclosed in a press release signed by the Public Relations Officer for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko,.a superintendent of Police on Monday.
According to Iringe-Koko, the police received a petition on January 9, 2025, about the disturbing activities of unknown hoodlums attacking local security guards and vandalising public assets.
The petition revealed that on January 3, 2025, at about 3am, a 1,000KVA transformer worth ₦52 million was vandalised and stolen from the NNPCL Estate in Rumuokwurushi, Port Harcourt.
Iringe-Koko said, acting on the information, operatives from the C4i Intelligence Unit launched a coordinated operation that led to the arrest of six suspects involved in the theft.
The Police identified the suspects to include Raphael Ngwuebor, 52, from Umezeoka Community in Ezza LGA, Ebonyi State; Christopher Nwagwu, 50, from Aboh My Side LGA, Imo State; Chimene Wagoha, 35, from Ikwerre, Rivers State; Chikodi Ogu, 38, from Omuma LGA, Rivers State; Obinna Nwankwo, 43, from Omuma LGA, Rivers State; and John Aguarar, 36, from Etche LGA, Rivers State.
According to the police, the suspects confessed to being part of a syndicate specializing in transformer vandalism and theft. They also revealed that they had been involved in several transformer thefts in Rivers State.