Troops of the 192 Battalion, Nigerian Army (NA), operating in the 81 Division Area of Responsibility busted an international ammunition smuggling syndicate while transporting a truck load of smuggled ammunition to Anambra State on Saturday.
Brig. Onyema Nwachukwu, Army spokesman, revealed this on the official social media page on Monday.
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,loaded with 720 packets of Red Star Cartridges of 12 calibre, containing 25 cartridges per packet, totaling 18, 000 cartridges, and an additional 250 packets of live (black) cartridges containing 10 packets each, totaling 2500 cartridges of the 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 the preliminary investigation revealed that the ammunition, which was surreptitiously concealed in a supposed empty truck, was imported from Mali via the Idiroko International Border, where the criminals had successfully beaten several other checkpoints en route to 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 a volume of ammunition would have unleashed on innocent members of the public if the criminals had succeeded.
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.
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 a safe and secure atmosphere for all Nigerians and socio-economic development across the country.
