Arrested Algerian confesses to 8 years of arms trafficking in Nigeria
Story by Victor Itodo ABUH
Police in Zamfara State have apprehended a 58-year-old Algerian national accused of cross-border arms trafficking, alongside other suspects linked to criminal activities in the region.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Dalijan, disclosed this during a press briefing in Gusau on Tuesday.
He revealed that a series of raids conducted in the past three weeks led to significant recoveries, including 16 AK-47 rifles, a double-barrel gun, and a locally-made pistol sourced from a suspected arms manufacturer in Jos, Plateau State.
“The command, acting on intelligence, traced and arrested an arms manufacturer in Jos, tracked and arrested a regional arms trafficker from Algeria at the Illela border point,” said Dalijan.
He further stated, “The suspected Algerian told the police he has been committing this crime for eight years.
“The suspect supplies arms and ammunition to bandits in all parts of Northwest states. At the point of the arrest, four AK-47s were recovered from him.”
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Additional arrests included collaborators supplying motorcycles to bandits, with the recovery of live ammunition and N2.5 million in cash.
Dalijan also confirmed the detention of illegal gold miners, alongside the seizure of several mining excavators, emphasising the ongoing enforcement of the Federal and State government’s ban on illegal mining.
This operation underscores the commitment of law enforcement agencies to combat banditry and criminal networks in Zamfara and the Northwest region.
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