Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have stormed a bandits’ hideout in Mamdam Forest, recovering two FN FAL rifles and live ammunition in a follow-up operation targeting a gun-running syndicate supplying weapons to kidnappers terrorising Abuja residents.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this on Wednesday, stating that operatives traced the syndicate to the forest, which straddles Bauchi and Plateau States, where the arms were eventually recovered.
According to Adeh, the operation stemmed from the arrest of four suspects earlier paraded by the Command. “In a follow up investigation into the arrest of four suspects for supplying arms, ammunition, and illicit substances to bandits, who were paraded at the Command Headquarters on 11th July, 2026, operatives of the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit conducted a follow-up operation on 2nd August, 2026, based on credible intelligence provided by one of the suspects, Musbahu Ishaq,” she said.
She explained that the intelligence led operatives straight to the syndicate’s den. “The operation led the operatives to Dajin Mamdam Forest, located between Plateau and Bauchi States, where investigations revealed that the criminal syndicate maintained one of its hideouts,” Adeh said.
The PRO added that the suspect had named his supplier and the kingpin he served. “Further investigation established that Musbahu Ishaq obtained arms and ammunition from one Rabiu Hassan and supplied them to one Baba Alhaji Sanusi, a suspected bandit kingpin currently at large and believed to be hiding in a forest in Katsina State,” she said.
A search of the camp yielded the weapons haul, according to Adeh. “A thorough search of the hideout led to the recovery of two (2) FN FAL rifles and live ammunition concealed within their hideout in the forest,” she said.
She noted that the Command’s dragnet remains open for other members of the syndicate. “Investigations are ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the criminal syndicate currently at large, recover additional arms linked to the network, and charge all suspects to court,” Adeh said.
The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, reiterated the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing, assuring residents that operations would continue until every member of the syndicate is apprehended.
“He also urges members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information to the nearest Police Station or through the Command’s emergency lines: 08032003913, 08028940883.”
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