Police arrest 3 suspected gun runners with over 500 ammunition in Niger

The Niger State Police Command has arrested three suspected gun runners and confiscated over 500 live ammunition from the suspects in the state.

The state Commissioner, Monday Bala Kuryas, said the suspects confessed to the crime after being paraded in Minna.

according to the state Police commander, Muhammadu Bello, 32, and Nura Umar, 30, both of Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State, were arrested by the Police Safer Highway on patrol along the Makera-Mokwa route in their vehicle.

According to him, the said driver (Bello) refused to stop at the check-point for a routine check, but after a hot chase by the Police team to Sabon Makera village, they abandoned the vehicle and took to their heels.

However, he explained that the two suspects were later arrested with the help of the community.

During the search of the vehicle, the following items were recovered:- two (2) AK-47 rifles, two (2) AK-49 rifles, sixteen (16) magazines, four hundred and seventeen (417) live ammunition of 7.62 calibre, one hundred and fifty (150) RPG live ammunition.

He stated that when questioned, they claimed that the arms were being taken from Sokoto to one Yellow at Mokwa.

Kuryas also said the third suspect, Habib Sani aged 25, of Kanti village, Mashegu LGA was earlier arrested in possession of 14 locally fabricated guns concealed in a sack bag while on transit in a commercial vehicle from Kanti village to Guffanti, New-Bussa Borgu LGA.

The guns comprised six double barrel and eight triple barrel guns.