Task force arrests 71 hoodlums at Oshodi drug spots

Operatives of the Lagos State task force yesterday arrested 71 miscreants around railway-line in Oshodi as part of efforts to rid the state of criminal elements, especially those operating at notorious dark spots across the metropolis.

Chairman of the agency, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, who led the enforcement team in an early morning raid, hinted that 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 disclosed that some of those arrested were in possession of suspected illegal substances (Indian hemp) and other dangerous drugs such as Codeine, Skunk and Tramadol.

The chairman reiterated that all identified black spots across the state would be continuously raided and arrested suspects would be fully prosecuted if found guilty, stressing that the present administration has zero-tolerance for all forms of crimes and criminality.

According to Egbeyemi, 13 of all the arrested 71 suspects were released after a thorough screening. The only underage male among them was transferred to the Lagos State Correctional Centre for proper rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Zubairu Muazu, has 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.

An underage boy, Hamed Gilani, who was referred to Lagos State Correctional Centre disclosed that he ran to Lagos from one of the neighbouring states after his parents separated.

According to Gilani, aged 11, “I ran errand for those bigger miscreants and I was lured to be smoking Indian hemp when I started sleeping among them under the bridge at Oshodi”

Another arrested miscreant, Suraju Ademola, confessed to have been sleeping along the railway line under the Oshodi bridge for over seven months. He confessed to be part of those criminals who attack and rob innocent members of the public of their valuables at Oshodi bridge both early in the morning and at night.