Troops Bust Illegal Arms Factory in Plateau, Arrest Two Suspects with Welding Machines and Rifles

Troops of Operation Enduring Peace have dismantled an illegal arms manufacturing factory in Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau State, arresting two suspects caught in the act of fabricating weapons.

The raid was carried out on Wednesday at around 5pm in Gwandanu village. A statement by the Media Information Officer of Operation Enduring Peace, Captain Chinonso Polycarp Oteh, confirmed troops recovered two AK-47 rifles and one G3 rifle from the site, along with two generating sets, a welding machine, a drilling machine, a hand filer, and a comprehensive technical toolbox used in the production of the illegal arms.

The two suspects are in custody and undergoing investigation to determine the reach of their distribution network and any links to wider criminal syndicates.

In a separate operation around the same period, troops deployed at Gidan Waya in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State responded to an armed attack on Forest Guards and Vigilante Group members. Pursuing the attackers toward the Jaginde Forest axis, troops cornered and arrested one suspect near Ungwar Maruwa after the others fled into the bush. A search of the hideout recovered one AK-47, one AK-49, a motorcycle, and a sleeping mat.

Plateau State has seen persistent communal violence in recent years, with locally fabricated weapons playing a significant role in sustaining it. Busting the supply chain at source — rather than just intercepting weapons already in circulation — is a different approach, and one the military said it intends to continue through intensified mop-up operations across the affected areas.

Sources: Vanguard, Authority NG, Daily Report NG