There were reports that the traders, who were said to be travelling in a convoy and escorted by a police team, were abducted on Wednesday after bandits opened fire on them.
The command’s spokesman, ASP Mohammed Jalige, in a statement on Thursday explained that on Wednesday at about 09.30 a.m., policemen escorting traders from Udawa village to Kaduna came under attack by bandits, leading to the kidnap of a number of persons.
He said the team reinforced and engaged the bandits, forcing them to retreat and abandoned their victims, some with gunshot wounds.
“The operatives succeeded in rescuing 48 people. They were profiled and subsequently escorted to their destination safely,’’ he said.
Jalije, however, said that one woman was yet to be accounted for, adding that there was ongoing effort to rescue her unharmed.
Meanwhile, the police spokesman said operatives had arrested three suspects and recovered 1,454 bottles of Codeine syrup on the Kaduna-Zaria Road.
He said that police patrol team attached to Sabon Gari Division in Zaria intercepted an unregistered vehicle on the Kaduna-Zaria road, carrying the bottles of the codeine syrup.
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