Buyer arrested as Kwara police intercepts suspected AK-47 procurement deal

A planned acquisition of an AK-47 rifle has been disrupted in Kaiama Local Government Area, following actionable intelligence that exposed an alleged illicit arms transaction before its completion.‎

Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Section on August 3 received intelligence report indicating that Sanda Aliyu was allegedly negotiating with one Aliyu Mohammed, currently at large, for the procurement of an AK-47 rifle. Detectives immediately initiated a targeted operation around the intelligence, resulting in the arrest of Sanda Aliyu before the weapon could be delivered.

‎During interrogation, the suspect voluntarily admitted his involvement in the transaction and disclosed that N1.6 million had already been paid towards the purchase of the rifle. He further revealed that the purpose of acquiring the firearm was to enable him rise to the position of a “Boss” within his current kidnapping gang, before ultimately breaking away to establish and lead his own criminal gang.

Confirming the arrest to newsmen, the command’s spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said investigative verification of the transaction has provided further leads into the circumstances surrounding the attempted acquisition and identified other persons connected with the illicit arms transaction, established the full extent of the network, and unraveled the broader criminal activities associated with the gang.