The Bayelsa State Police Command has said that it has arrested a suspected gunrunner who sold an AK 47 riffle for N500,000 and a Berrata pistol for N250,000.
The spokesperson of the command, DSP Asinim Butswat, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa that the suspect was arrested in a sting operation on June 16 at a hotel in Ekenfa 3, Yenagoa.
Butswat said that the operation was in furtherance of the directive by the Inspector General of Police (IG) Ibrahim Idris to police commands to mop up arms and ammunition from unauthorised persons.
He said that the police recovered one AK47 rifle and two Barreta pistols from the suspects who sourced the arms from the Republic of Cameroon.
He said that police detectives lured the suspected notorious gunrunner, who hails from Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state, under the guise of purchasing arms from him.
The spokesperson said that the suspected gunrunner was arrested with a 34-year-old man from Oboro Town in Delta, who usually introduced him to buyers.
“The suspect confessed that he usually travelled to the Republic of Cameroon to buy arms and ammunition in a community called Okwa, a border town with Bakassi Peninsula.
“He also admitted that he sells an AK 47 riffle for N550,000 and Berratta pistol for N250,000 in Nigeria,” Butswat said.
The police spokesperson said that efforts were underway to recover some of the guns the suspect earlier sold and arrest the buyers.
He also appealed to members of the public to provide the police with useful information that might lead to the recovery of arms from unauthorised persons.
