Enugu: The Enugu State Police Command has detained an alleged firearm repairer alongside two others for unlawful possession of weapons, ammunition, and suspected involvement in cult activities.
Police spokesman SP Daniel Ndukwe disclosed this in a statement released on Sunday in Enugu.
Ndukwe said the arrests were achieved through sustained, proactive policing operations across the state.
He said the recovered exhibits included three locally-made guns and six live cartridges. A motorcycle and other incriminating items were also recovered in separate operations within Nsukka and 9th Mile.
In one operation, operatives attached to the Okpuje Division Surveillance Team intercepted Sunday Okwumaji, 23, during a stop-and-search duty at Ovogovo on May 19.
Okwumaji, from Igala-Mela Local Government Area of Kogi, was intercepted. He was stopped along the Nsukka-Enugu-Ezike-Umuopu Road.
Police found one locally-made pistol loaded with a live cartridge concealed in Okwumaji’s bag during a search.
“The suspect claimed to be a firearm repairer and stated that the firearm was handed over to him for repairs by its owner,” Ndukwe said.
The spokesman said operatives of the Command’s Distress Response Squad also intercepted a motorcycle carrying three occupants along the Abor/Nsukka Old Road at 9th Mile.
The incident occurred at about 5 p.m. on the same day. This was during a routine stop-and-search operation.
Upon attempts to search them, two suspects, including the rider, fled, while one, Chimobi Ozo, 27, was detained.
Police recovered a locally-fabricated revolver pistol and four live cartridges from his bag.
Ndukwe said the suspect confessed to involvement in cult-related activities during interrogation.
“He stated that he and his fleeing accomplices were heading to a secret cult gathering at Ijebuoghene in Udi Local Government Area,” he added.
The spokesman also disclosed that operatives attached to the Nsukka Area Command recovered another firearm during a surveillance patrol along Amaenu Edem, Nsukka.
He said a male rider abandoned his lady’s motorcycle and a bag. The rider fled after sighting the operatives on May 15.
Police searched the bag and recovered one locally-made pistol and one live cartridge.
Other recovered items included four bunches of keys, a tube suspected of illicit drug use, torchlight, spanners and an iron cutter.
Acting on credible intelligence, operatives subsequently traced and detained the suspect, identified as Ekene Ugwu, 31, on May 16, Ndukwe said.
Ndukwe said efforts were ongoing to arrest the fleeing accomplices. The suspects will be arraigned after investigations.
The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Mamman Giwa, commended the operatives for their vigilance and professionalism.
Giwa reaffirmed the command’s resolve to sustain the fight against crime and criminality across the state.
He urged residents to remain vigilant, law-abiding, and supportive, and to provide credible, timely information to security agencies.