The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three men in Zamfara State for attempting to smuggle live ammunition to bandits.

The suspects were caught during a stop-and-search operation in Tsafe Local Government Area on Tuesday.

NDLEA officers stopped a vehicle for inspection and found 80 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition hidden in a ‘bagco’ sack behind the driver’s seat. The suspects were immediately arrested.

The arrested men have been identified as Adamu Tijani, 35, Yunusa Yakubu, 17, and Tijani Ismail, 40. One of them, Tijani, was the driver of the vehicle.

During questioning, Tijani admitted that he received the sack from a Nigerian soldier at the Ilelah border in Sokoto State while returning from Niger Republic.

He claimed the soldier told him the sack contained broken tiles. Tijani was instructed to deliver it to Ankpa, Kogi State, to a person named Chazzy Baba or Baba Kata.

The other two suspects, Yakubu and Ismail, were working as assistants to Adamu Tijani. NDLEA has handed them over to the Department of State Services (DSS) for further investigation.

This arrest highlights ongoing efforts by security agencies to prevent the illegal supply of weapons to criminal groups. The authorities continue to urge citizens to report any suspicious activities that could threaten public safety.