Troops of 192 battalion of the Nigerian army, have busted an international ammunition smuggling syndicate, arresting two suspects who were transporting a truck ladened with smuggled ammunition to Anambra State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted a statement issued on Monday, by spokesperson of the Army, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, saying the suspects were arrested on Saturday, when the truck was intercepted along Ajilete-Owode Road in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun. Nwachukwu said the smugglers had cleverly concealed the ammunition in the truck in a bid to evade security checkpoints, before they took off from Mali.
He added that the army the two suspects were being grilled.
According to the statement, “The troops, who acted on actionable intelligence conducted a meticulous and rigorous stop and search operation along Ajilete-Owode Road in Yewa North LGA of Ogun state and uncovered the illegal ammunition in a truck with Registration number ENU 697 XY.
“The truck was loaded with 720 packets of Red Star Cartridges of 12 Calibre, containing 25 cartridges per packet, totalling 18,000 cartridges and an additional 250 packets of live (black) cartridges containing 10 packets each, totalling 2500 cartridges of same calibre.
“The suspects, identified as Mr. Eric Seworvor, a Ghanaian national, and the driver, Mr. Lukman Sani, have been taken into custody and are helping with ongoing investigations.
“Information gathered during preliminary investigation revealed that the ammunition, which were surreptitiously concealed in a supposed empty truck were imported from Mali, via Idiroko International Border.
“The criminals had successfully beaten several other checkpoints en-route their final destination in Onitsha, Anambra State, where they intended to deliver the illegal ammunition.
“Timely intervention by the vigilant troops however thwarted the chaos that such volume of ammunition would have unleashed on innocent members of the public, if the criminals had succeeded.”
The statement appealed to all law-abiding citizens to continue to support the troops and other security agencies with credible and actionable information, as they combat security challenges across the country.
The Chief of Army Staff (CAS), Maj-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, commended the troops for their commitment and urged them not to relent as they strive in synergy with other services and security agencies to provide safe and secure atmosphere for all Nigerians and socio-economic development across the country.
Credit: NAN
