Date: 2013-04-28

Human brains in a pot, several eggs in another. Two live pigeons; one black and the other white. Four hens that have been slaughtered; their feathers scattered on the floor.

These were some of the gory finds of a police raid on a criminal hideout at a location said to be near Ogbondoroko, a village few kilometres from Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Although some of the suspects behind the 'power house' are still at large, two of their colleagues in crime were killed on Thursday by the policemen as the command stepped up efforts at curtailing spiralling criminal activities in the north-central sate.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abdul Bube who made the disclosure while briefing newsmen on activities of the command during the last two weeks, said the suspects were killed as they exchanged gunfire with policemen who had laid siege at an hotel on the outskirts of Ilorin where the suspects were allegedly billed to meet their leader. He also announced the recovery of two exotic cars snatched from their owners within the same two weeks.

He identified the suspects as 'Vincent' and 'Lastborn', saying they were killed as one of them allegedly opened fire on the police after they were sighted near a hotel located at Afon Junction, Ganmo, where they were to meet their leader, now on the run.

Bube said the command had also impounded over 200 motorcycles within the same time given that most of the recent cases of car snatching were carried out by men using such mode of transportation. Those found wanting among the owners of such motorcycles, he said, have also been prosecuted.

The gory items were part of a cache of arms found by men of the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) who had pursued the suspects into the bush early this week. They were discovered at a shrine, described as the 'power house' of the suspects, located in a village near Ogbodonroko along Afon, in Asa local government area of the state. Other items recovered from both the deceased and the 'power house' include one single barrelled gun with two live cartridges, one locally made pistol, some quantities of weed suspected to be cannabis, one iron cuter, a Mazda MPV Space Bus and three motorcycles.

The police boss said the deceased were members of a gang led by one Kareem, alias Keke who had been terrorising the metropolis and has been on the wanted list of the police for sometime. 

Bube said: "In the last two weeks, the command had noticed an increase in cases of car snatching within the metro and in response to this unpleasant situation several security measures have been put in place. 

Some of the measures being taken include raiding of suspected criminal hideouts such as motor parks, Indian-hemp joints, alcohol drinking joints, brothels etc, intensive motorised patrols, conduct of stop and search, intelligence gathering and swift response to distress calls among others."