By Desire Emmanuel
Two men who specialised in smuggling ammunition from Benin Republic to Nigeria have been arrested by men of the Oyo State Police Command while attempting to bring in 2,625 cartridges of different calibres.
The command announced the arrest in a statement on Friday, February 27, saying the men, Isiaka Dare, aged 35 years and Taiwo Ayodabo, aged 33 years, were apprehended at Budo Mosalasi, Saki area of the state.
They were arrested by the command’s Monitoring Unit, Saki Operation Base, while acting on credible intelligence about the activities of gun runners in the area.
The operatives were said to have executed a coordinated intelligence-led operation which led to the arrest of the two men.
The command stated that investigation revealed that the men operated across international terrain, trafficking ammunition from the Republic of Benin into Nigeria through border routes.
“Their criminal enterprise involves the clandestine importation and distribution of prohibited ammunition to individuals within the country—arms and ammunition which may ultimately be deployed in the commission of armed robbery, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes,” the command stated.
At the point of their arrest, items recovered from them were 105 packets of pump-action cartridges concealed in four kegs, with each packet containing 25 cartridges, amounting to 2,625 cartridges.
Two unregistered motorcycles believed to have been used for the illegal transportation and distribution of the ammunition were also recovered from them.
The men have confessed to the crime and are currently assisting investigators in unravelling the wider transnational network and identifying other accomplices involved in the illicit trade.
They have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for future interrogation and they will be charged to court at the conclusion of the investigation.
