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… sneaked through Idiroko border from Mali
Troops of 192 Battalion, Owode-Yewa, Nigerian Army (NA) operating in 81 Division Area of Responsibility on Saturday, 15th July, 2023, busted an international ammunition smuggling syndicate, with a truck load of smuggled cartridges enroute to Anambra State.
According to the Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu in a statement on Monday said that the troops uncovered the illegal ammunition in a truck with Registration number: ENU 697 XY.
As at the time of arrest, 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, who has been arrested was 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.
It was learnt that the troops acted on actionable Intelligence, and conducted a meticulous and rigorous “Stop and Search” operation along Ajilete-Owode Road in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
However, 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, where the criminals had successfully beaten several other checkpoints en-route their final destination in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The illegal ammunition were intended to be delivered in Anambra but due to the timely intervention by the vigilant troops, thwarted unleashing of such volume of ammunition on innocent members of the public, if the criminals had succeeded.
As a result, the Nigerian Army, therefore appeals 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.
In that light, the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja has 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 for socio-economic development across the country.
