The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said its operatives on Wednesday, December 15, intercepted 64,000 pump action gun cartridges and a new pump action gun at a store located at Success Line, Marine modern market, Onitsha, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra state.
The NDLEA said it carried out a joint operation with military troops following a credible intelligence.
The operation led to the arrest of a 34-year-old arms dealer, one Donatus Onyemachi Igwebudu.
A statement signed by Femi Babafemi, the Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja noted that the recovered arm and ammunition were transported to the Agency’s office in Awka.
On the other hand, the NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene-Lokoja expressway in Kogi state intercepted 34 children between the ages of 8 and 14 being trafficked from Ijebu Ode, Ogun state to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
Babafemi revealed that “the minors packed in two commercial buses; Toyota Sienna and a 12- Seater Mazda with registration numbers Lagos LND124FV and Oyo BDJ-683YK respectively, were recovered in the early hours of Thursday 16th Dec from the human trafficking syndicate.”
The statement added;
“The bus drivers confirmed that the kids were handed over to them by a woman at Ijebu Ode to be conveyed to Abuja, adding that on arrival in FCT, the woman is to call another bus driver who will convey the children to Riyom in Plateau State.
It was further revealed that the children were initially trafficked from Plateau state to Ijebu Ode, where they were distributed to different households as domestic servants. Some of the children were discovered to have served for two years and their rewards sent to woman’s agent in Jos.”
