Two policemen and one civilian helping them to track a car stolen in the Oye Agu Market area of Abagana in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State have been killed by gunmen.
Six policemen and the car tracker had traced the stolen car to the Achalla community in Awka North LGA, but they were ambushed by gunmen believed to have stolen the car being tracked.
DSP Toochukwu Ikenga, Anambra Police Public Relations Officer said that two of the policemen and the car tracker were captured by the gunmen while the remaining four policemen escaped.
He said that a police reinforcement team that later returned to the forest where the hoodlums set up their camp engaged the criminals in a fierce gun battle.
The PPRO said that some of the gunmen sustained varying degrees of gunshot injuries, adding that human skulls, bombs, guns, hard drugs and other illicit items were recovered from their camp in the forest.
According to him, the police neutralised some of the armed hoodlums but did not mention the number.
He said: “The Anambra Police Command, Friday, 15/07/2022, recovered a human skull, one locally made rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher, two (RPG) bombs, one single-barrel long gun, an empty chain of bullet, one Toyota Sienna, one Mercedes Benz Formatic jeep, two cylinders, a huge quantity of hard drugs and other items, including a police beret and a police belt in a criminal den at Amukabia, Achala, Awka North LGA in Anambra State.
“The recovery came about following a counter-offensive operation launched against criminal elements who had on 15/7/2022 laid an ambush against a six-man police team and a civilian car tracker who was on a recovery operation of a Toyota Sienna Space Wagon vehicle earlier snatched on gunpoint on 9/7/2022 in Oye-Agu Abagana.
“Four of the police operatives escaped the ambush, while two of the police operatives and the car tracker were captured by the criminals.
