DSS Foils Arms Trafficking Plot in Delta, Intercepts Sophisticated Weapons

DSS Foils Arms Trafficking Plot in Delta, Intercepts Sophisticated Weapons

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have thwarted a major arms smuggling operation in Delta State, seizing a cache of high-powered weapons and arresting two suspects linked to an international trafficking network terrorizing the region. The intelligence-driven raid, conducted on October 12 in Asaba, the state capital, has been hailed as a significant blow to criminal syndicates fueling insecurity across Nigeria's South-South.The suspects, identified as Stephen Sabo Atoshi, a notorious arms dealer and a 40-year-old secondary school teacher from Taraba State, were apprehended during a sting operation at the Oko Food Market along the Asaba-Onitsha Expressway. According to Anthony Ifemeje, Deputy Director of Operations at the DSS Delta State Command, the duo was part of a sophisticated ring smuggling small arms and light weapons from Sebha in southern Libya, through Chad, and into Nigeria via an illegal border crossing in Geidam, Yobe State.Recovered items included seven General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), several AK-47 rifles, five hand grenades, hundreds of rounds of live ammunition, and other military-grade weaponry concealed in bags of beans aboard a truck from northern Nigeria. Interrogation revealed Atoshi had been in the illicit trade for eight years, supplying over 55 weapons nationwide, including GPMGs and AK-47s, allegedly used to terrorize Asaba and its environs.    
The operation also uncovered 497 cartons of counterfeit drugs destined for local distribution, highlighting the syndicate's multifaceted criminal activities.    Briefing Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori at the DSS Command Headquarters in Asaba on Monday, Ifemeje detailed the weeks-long surveillance that led to the interception."This network has been a thorn in our side, supplying arms that exacerbate communal clashes and banditry," Ifemeje stated, assuring continued efforts to dismantle supply routes and apprehend accomplices.     Governor Oborevwori, visibly elated, commended the DSS for their professionalism and ordered a statewide crackdown on criminal networks. "Delta remains a peaceful and investor-friendly state, and we will not allow miscreants to destabilize it," he declared, vowing to track down sponsors of violence, including those behind the recent killing of Jerry Aduara, a prominent youth leader in Warri South Local Government.    
"Nobody involved will go scot-free; we want peace, and security agencies have my full backing," Oborevwori added, reaffirming his administration's "MORE Agenda" priorities of peace, security, and development.    The arrests come amid heightened security concerns in Delta, an oil-rich state plagued by militancy, cultism, and arms proliferation. Earlier incidents, such as a separate DSS operation in April 2025 that netted 57 AK-47s and led to the arrest of a British Army major of Delta origin, underscore the persistent threat of foreign-linked gunrunning.        

Source: DSS Foils Arms Trafficking Plot in Delta, Intercepts Sophisticated Weapons

 - NigerianEye
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