Police operatives have intensified comb-outs of forests and other hard-to-reach areas in Edo State in a renewed effort to track down kidnappers, disrupt criminal activities and prevent suspected criminals from establishing permanent camps.
The Edo State Police Command says it is sustaining its forest-combing operations across the state as part of intensified efforts to dislodge kidnappers and other criminal elements who use forest areas as hideouts.
The Commander, Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron 5, Benin City, ACP Olayinka Saheed, disclosed this after the completion of a six-week forest-combing exercise around Ekiadolor in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.
Saheed said heavily armed operatives of PMF Squadrons 5, Benin, and 82, Uromi, had been deployed deep into the forests as part of a sustained operation targeting suspected camps and hideouts of kidnappers and other criminal gangs.
He explained that the exercise was designed to take the fight against crime beyond the highways and residential communities to the forest locations where criminal elements were believed to be seeking refuge.
According to him, the operatives have been combing thick forest paths and other difficult-to-access areas believed to provide cover for criminals, intending to disrupt their activities and prevent them from establishing permanent camps.
The operation is also incorporating surveillance drones to provide aerial coverage of the forest terrain and monitor movements in areas that may be difficult for ground operatives to access.
Saheed said the use of aerial surveillance was providing security personnel with additional intelligence to guide the forest-combing exercises and strengthen their ability to track suspicious movements within the vast forest areas.
The commander said the operations were part of a broader security strategy aimed at dismantling criminal camps, denying kidnappers safe havens and preventing the forests from being used as operational bases for criminal activities.
He noted that the sustained presence of security personnel in the forests was also intended to reassure residents and communities in adjoining areas that the police were taking proactive measures to protect lives and property.
The police command said the forest-combing exercise would not be a one-off operation, stressing that security operatives would continue to maintain pressure on suspected criminal elements and sustain surveillance of areas identified as potential hideouts.
The development comes amid renewed efforts by security agencies in Edo State to tackle kidnapping and other violent crimes through intelligence-led operations, patrols and targeted raids on suspected criminal locations.
The police therefore urged residents, particularly those living around forest communities, to remain vigilant and provide security agencies with credible information that could assist ongoing operations against kidnappers and other criminal groups.
