Special Police Forces comprising the Inspector General of Police, Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and the IGP Special Tactical Squad (STS) on Wednesday paraded 108 criminal elements arrested in several operations across the country.
The Special Squads commanded by Deputy Commissioners of Police, Abba Kyari and Kolo Yusuf said the suspects were arrested for crimes linked to Kidnapping, drugs peddling, unlawful possession of prohibited firearms, illegal trade of illicit weapons and manufacturing of weapons.
Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba who addressed the media during the parade, cited the case of a suspect, 29 year old Abdullahi Ali, a Niger Republic national who specializes in altering the International Monitoring Identity features in phones for purposes of commiting crimes.
He said Abdullahi had developed software that alters telephone identities of owners adding that such alterations has been used by kidnapping gangs and bandits to evade police investigations, tracking and arrests.
The FPRO cited another group of 5 suspects who specializes in providing/supplying illicit drugs like cocaine, crack, tramadol to bandits and kidnappers along Kaduna-Kano-Minna and Katsina axis.
Also cited is the case of an arms manufacturer who also hails from Niger Republic.
The suspect who is a stack illiterate showed the sample of an AK 47 rifle which he fabricated with local materials but which is so accurate that it uses the same ammunition used by the imported AK 47 rifle.
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One Adamu Numan, a national of Niger who is an arms supplier said for the past three years, he has been procuring arms including AK 47 rifles and GPMGs and selling to bandits and kidnappers in the North, particularly Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger states for their criminal activity.
A gang who specializes in diverting products from companies was paraded and they confessed to diverting 6,000 crates of Coca Cola drinks meant for supply to Benin but diverted to Kaduna.
Towards perfecting the plot to carry out this crime, the gang used forged documents to get their member employed by a Logistics Company called Aquilla Logistics LTD based in Lagos.
Consequently, the 6,000 crates of Coca Cola meant for Benin was diverted to Kaduna and sold cheaply for #3.5million.
Mba saiid it took the Police extra efforts to track and arrest the suspects as all addresses, school attended, those who allegedly recommended him and other information contained in his office file proved to be fake or forges.
He therefore advised employers of labour to always double check information provided by aspiring employees before they are employed to avert such experiences.
One Haruna, an arms supplier disclosed that he usually hid AK 47 rifles inside the tank compartment of his motorcycle to evade military checkpoints and sell the arms to bandits before he was arrested by the Police.
At the parade, DCP Mba said the Police recovered 30 assorted rifles including 11 AK 47 rifles 2 GPMGs, LAR rifles, 10 locally made rifles and 1,520 live ammunitions as well as AK 47 magazines.
He added that the Police was committed to cutting off arms supply chains and drugs supply chains like cocaine, tramadol and other forms of banned substances which serve as stimulator for most of the crimes committed in the country.
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