Police Recover Locally-Made Pistol From Tricyle

The police in Abia have
recovered a fully-loaded, locally-made pistol from a tricycle in Umuahia, the spokesman for the Police Command in Abia, ASP Nta Ogbonnaya, has said.
Ogbonnaya confirmed the incident to newsmen in Umuahia.
He said the police made the recovery during a stop-and-search operation at Umuobasi Street/Bende Road, Umuahia, around 10 p.m. after the operator and two occupants abandoned the vehicle at the checkpoint and ran away.
A source at the State Criminal Investigation Department said that policemen flagged down the tricycle and wanted to ascertain why the operator was still on the road at that time.
“As soon as the keke (tricycle) stopped, the operator jumped out along with the two occupants and they all took to their heels,” the source said.
The source said that the policemen restrained themselves from shooting at them “in order not to shoot at innocent passers-by.”
He said that during a search of the tricycle, a fully-loaded, locally-made pistol was found neatly concealed inside the booth.
He said that the tricycle with Reg. No. RLU 513 WU and fleet number 7867 as well as the pistol had been deposited at Umuahia Central Police Station.
The command’s spokesman said that the police were on the trail of the fleeing keke operator and his accomplices, adding: “I am sure that we will track them down.”