Troops arrest 98 illegal miners in FCT, recover equipment
SKAiF NewsNG SNN
Troops of 176 Guards Battalion under Operation MESA have arrested 98 suspected illegal miners during a raid on an illegal mining site in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
This was made known in a post on X by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency and security expert in the Lake Chad region.
Makama stated that the operation was conducted at about 5:55 p.m. on March 23, following intelligence on illegal mining activities in the area, noting the troops stormed the site and apprehended the suspects without resistance.
The source further revealed that items recovered during the operation include one vehicle, eight motorcycles, five pumping machines, 27 shovels, seven sledgehammers, 22 diggers, three head pans, five mining mats, and a sack of charcoal.
“The arrested suspects have been handed over to the Guards Brigade Provost Group for further investigation and necessary action,” he said.
