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As part of efforts to rid Lagos State of criminal elements, especially those operating at notorious blackspots across the state, operatives of the Lagos Task Force on Wednesday arrested 71 miscreants around railway line in Oshodi.
According to the chairman of the agency, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, who led the enforcement team, some of those arrested were found to be in possession of suspected illegal substances and dangerous drugs such as Indian hemp, codeine, skunk and tramadol.
Egbeyemi, in a statement made available to newsmen by the agency’s spokesperson,Taofiq Adebayo, said the crackdown was in line with the determination of the Task Force to curtail the activities of hoodlums who rob unsuspecting members of the public.
He reiterated that all identified blackspots across the state would continuously be raided, noting that arrested suspects would be fully prosecuted.
The Task Force boss added that the present administration in the state has zero tolerance for all forms of crimes and criminality.
“Lagos State is the most populous in Nigeria as well as its economic heartbeat. As such, the state government is committed to providing a conducive environment for both local and foreign investors,” he said.
Egbeyemi, however, disclosed that 13 of the arrested 71 suspects were released after a thorough screening by the agency, while the only underage amongst them, Hamed Gilani, was transferred to the Lagos State Correctional Centre for proper rehabilitation.
He further stated that the state Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, had directed that the raid must be a continuous exercise in line with the state’s policy aimed at eradicating activities of miscreants and cultists disturbing innocent residents.
Gilani, was quoted in the statement to have said that he ran to Lagos from one of the neighbouring states after his parents separated.
“I ran an errand for those bigger miscreants and was lured into smoking Indian hemp when I started sleeping among them under the bridge at Oshodi,” Gilani revealed.
Another arrested miscreant, Suraju Ademola, confessed to have been sleeping along the railway line under the Oshodi bridge for over seven months.
He also confessed to being part of the criminals who attacked and robbed innocent members of the public of their valuables on Oshodi bridge. task force combs black spots, arrests 71 miscreants in Oshodi