In Kaduna State, Operation Safe Haven troops apprehended a gun manufacturing syndicate and seized 26 guns from them.
Captain Oya James, the Special Military Taskforce’s media officer, revealed this in a statement he released on Friday in Jos.
Napoleon John, a wanted gunrunner who had been on the Special Military Taskforce’s wanted list, was eventually apprehended after a week-long intelligence operation, James said.
A gun manufacturing factory in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Government Area, Kaduna State, has been discovered by troops, in accordance with Commander Operation Safe Haven and General Officer Commanding 3 Armoured Division, Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar’s resolve to deal decisively with sponsors and perpetrators of crime as well as mopping up illegal weapons in OPSH Joint Operations Area.
“The suspect who admitted to the crime guided the troops to a hidden factory where Monday Dunia, another miscreant, was selling weapons of various calibres. Monday admitted to being in the business for over five years, which fueled the crisis in Kaduna and the neighboring Plateau states.”
Following a comprehensive examination of the plant, 22 firearms total—including nine revolvers, two locally manufactured AK-47 rifles, two military-grade AK-47 rifles, and seven pistols—were found. A gas cylinder, machine tools, rounds of special 7.62mm ammunition, and one submachine gun are among the others.
After midnight on September 22, 2023, troops conducted a follow-up operation in Adua 1 village in Kafanchan. During this operation, they raided another hideout and took additional weapons and gear, including two AK-47 rifles, two revolver rifles, live rounds of 9mm and 7.62 ammunition, six dangerous daggers, one hacker axe, several empty cases of 7.62mm special rounds, two police uniforms, and one military camouflage trousers.
James revealed that the prominent drug lord, whose identity was kept a secret by the syndicate, was currently evading capture but would be captured shortly.
Although praising the soldiers for their tenacity and fortitude, the GOC/Commander OPSH promised to make sure that any escaping members of the syndicate were apprehended and subjected to the full force of the law. The rapid abandonment of wicked ways and adoption of legal means of subsistence is imperative for those who sponsor and commit criminal acts, the speaker continued.
