August 17, (THEWILL) –Â Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested 39 suspects for murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, arms trafficking and cybercrime.
Parading the suspects at the office of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CP Frank Mba, said two RPG launchers, 13 AK47 rifles, four locally made pistols, 58 wraps of dynamite, 769 AK47 live ammunition, 14 AK47 magazines, 30 live cartridges, mobile phones, 157 SIM cards, amongst other incriminating items, were recovered from the suspects
Parading members of a four-man trans-border arms smuggling syndicate in Cross River state, Mba said the principal suspect, Ntui Lambert, 36, a native of Ikom, whose father is a Nigerian and mother, a Cameroonian, was arrested in possession of different calibre of sophisticated weapons; 58 wraps of explosive materials suspected to be dynamite; and ammunition.
CP Mba, who said the kingpin was arrested through an intelligence-led operation, disclosed that further investigations revealed that the suspect was engaged in trans-border arms smuggling with three other gang members who are also members of a secessionist group in Cameroon.
Similarly, the FPRO also paraded one Yahaya Zakari a.k.a Excellency, 46, who is a suspected member of a cybercrime syndicate that specializes in stealing mobile phones and using SIM cards to gain access to his victims’ bank accounts to carry out unauthorised financial transactions.
Mba named other members of Yahaya’s gang to include Shehu Aliyu, 22; Umar Abubakar, 42; and Abubakar Mohammed, 41.
He said, 157 SIM cards were recovered from the gang which operated in the FCT by the police team.
The FPRO further stated that two Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers were also recovered from one 78-year- old man, Okala Joseph, in Makurdi, Benue state.
“Investigations revealed that the suspect is a middleman between criminal suppliers of the weapon and the end-users. He is currently assisting the Police with vital information that will further help in breaking the supply chain and arresting other suspects”, Mba added.
He said all the suspects would be charged to court after investigations are completed.
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