Troops under Operation Hadarin Daji have killed 13 bandits and arrested eight others in Zamfara State.
Acting spokesperson for the troops, Captain Ayobami Oni-Orisan, said in a statement issued to newsmen that a woman who was used by the bandits to kidnap people was one of the bandits arrested.
Items intercepted by the troops, according to the statement, include seven AK 47 rifles, eight loaded magazines, 22 Motorcycles, two dane guns, four GSM phones and 30 jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit.
The troops also intercepted suspected drug counterfeiters and drug dealers with 350 cartons of fake “PECOL” drugs and a sizeable consignment of suspected Indian Hemp in the Zurmi and Shinkafi Local Government Areas of the state, respectively.
The spokesperson added that the drugs being smuggled from Niger Republic through Jibia, were carefully concealed behind bags of fresh pepper in a bus, with registration number: RMY 156 XA Katsina.
“Careful scrutiny of the vehicle by the troops led to the discovery of the fake drugs. Troops deployed in Shinkafi Local Government also intercepted another vehicle conveying a suspected drug dealer with a large quantity of Indian Hemp carefully concealed inside a carton,” he disclosed.