Daud Olatunji
Troops of the Nigerian Army’s 82 Division, operating under the Joint Task Force, Operation UDO KA, have arrested a suspected commander of a kidnapping syndicate in Enugu State and recovered four AK-47 rifles, seven magazines and 133 rounds of ammunition from a forest hideout.
The suspect was arrested during an intelligence-led operation conducted in collaboration with operatives of the Department of State Services in the Gariki General Area of Enugu State.
The Army also recovered $1,000, N785,900 and other items allegedly linked to the activities of the criminal network.
The Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division, Lt. Col. Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Ayeni said the operation followed investigations into the abduction of two persons in Udi Local Government Area of the state on August 2, 2026.
According to him, troops had earlier neutralised one alleged member of the syndicate and arrested another suspect during operations against the group.
He said information obtained from the arrested suspect enabled the security agencies to identify the fleeing commander and locate the group’s concealed weapons cache.
“Acting swiftly on the intelligence, troops intensified the manhunt, leading to the tracking, interception and arrest of the fleeing syndicate commander as he attempted to escape from Enugu State,” the statement said.
Following the arrest, troops reportedly launched a follow-up operation at Umuchingu Ujenike Forest, where members of the syndicate were allegedly keeping their weapons.
The Army said the operation led to the recovery of four AK-47 rifles, seven AK-47 magazines and 133 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammunition.
Ayeni said preliminary investigations indicated that the arrested suspect had links to several kidnapping operations across the South-East and North-Central regions.
The development comes amid sustained security operations against kidnapping and other forms of organised crime in the South-East, where security agencies have intensified efforts to dismantle criminal networks operating from forested areas.
The Army said the suspect was undergoing further interrogation, with investigators expected to use information obtained from him to track other members of the syndicate and their alleged collaborators.
It described the operation as a demonstration of the effectiveness of intelligence-led joint operations in disrupting organised criminal networks and denying them access to weapons and hideouts.
The Army said Operation UDO KA would continue to collaborate with other security agencies in operations against criminal elements across the South-East.
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