*We sell one ammunition for N500 – suspects
The Bauchi State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA has bust a cartel that deals in illegal sale of ammunition in the northern part of the country.
Two of its suspected members said to be conveying 1,360 rounds of live ammunition of 7.6mm caliber to Jos, Plateau State, were arrested along Bauchi-Jos Road.
The ammunition according to the agency, was loaded in a commercial Vectra Car which also conveyed seven passengers. NDLEA operatives who were on Highway Patrol were said to have flagged the vehicle down and during search, discovered the ammunitions, including one AK 47 magazine in the vehicle.
When contacted, the agency’s Principal Staff Officer, Public Affairs, Mr Jonah Achema, confirmed the arrest. He said, upon interrogation, two of the passengers, Dung Bulus Rwang and Dachollum Yohanna, admitted ownership of the ammunition and magazine which they neatly concealed in two sacks and kept in the boot of the vehicle.
“They were transporting the deadly consignments from Numan in Adamawa State to certain buyers in Plateau State. The suspects have been unable to produce any official permit for the deadly items.
“The two suspects confessed that they have been into the business of illegal arms dealing for a period of time”.
One of the suspects Yohanna, during interrogation, said, “It is a business for us. Things are really hard in this country and we need to sell these items so as to put food on the table for our families. We sell each of the ammunition for ₦500 only”.
Also speaking on the arrest, NDLEA’s Bauchi State Commander, Segun Kolawole Oke, stated that the suspects and exhibits would be handed over to the Bauchi State Police Command for further investigation.
According to him “the origin of the arms and the destination are both areas with rampant misuse of weapons. We therefore cannot take this issue of arms trafficking lightly”.
