By John Moses
Law enforcement authorities in Nigeria’s Enugu State have arrested a suspected illegal firearm technician along with six other individuals in a series of intelligence-led operations that led to the seizure of illegal weapons and ammunition.
Police spokesperson, Superintendent Daniel Ndukwe, announced on Sunday that the operations were carried out between 15 and 21 June as part of an intensified crime-fighting strategy directed by the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mamman Giwa.
During the raids, police recovered seven illegal firearms, one spent cartridge, two live cartridges, and several tools used in the fabrication and maintenance of weapons.
On 21 June, a 25-year-old man was arrested in the 9th Mile area with a cut-to-size double-barrelled shotgun and one spent cartridge. Police say his arrest followed confessions from three previously detained suspects, who admitted to being members of the notorious Supreme Vikings Confraternity and claimed they had used the weapon in multiple crimes.
In another related operation on 17 June, officers apprehended a 22-year-old suspect linked to armed robbery and cultism, based on a confession by a 39-year-old self-proclaimed firearm repairer. The suspect allegedly identified himself as a member of the Black Axe Confraternity and admitted to servicing weapons for criminal activities.
Items recovered included a locally made Beretta-style pistol, two double-barrelled pistols, a single-barrel pistol, a disassembled chamber of a foreign-manufactured gun, and tools used for firearm maintenance.
Further raids conducted between 15 and 20 June in black spots across Nkanu West and Enugu North led to the arrest of another 39-year-old individual and the recovery of a locally fabricated pistol, a cut-to-size gun, and two live cartridges abandoned by fleeing suspects.
All individuals remain in custody and will face prosecution following the conclusion of investigations.
