Two suspected members of an international ammunition trafficking syndicate have been arrested in Budo Mosalasi, Saki, Oyo State, the police said.

In a statement on Friday, the command’s spokesperson, Ayanlade Olayinka, said the gunrunners, 35-year-old Isiaka Dare and 33-year-old Taiwo Ayodabo, were allegedly involved in trafficking weapons from the Benin Republic into Nigeria.

Mr Olayinka said operatives of the command monitoring unit, Saki Operation Base, arrested the suspects in a coordinated intelligence-led operation.

“Investigation so far reveals that the suspects operate across international terrain, trafficking ammunition illegally from the Republic of Benin into Nigeria through unauthorised border routes.

“Their criminal enterprise involves the clandestine importation and distribution of prohibited ammunition to unauthorised individuals within the country—arms and ammunition which may ultimately be deployed in the commission of armed robbery, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes,” Mr Olayinka said.

He said the operatives recovered 105 packets of pump-action cartridges concealed in four jerry cans—each containing 25 cartridges—amounting to 2,625 cartridges, as well as two unregistered motorcycles.

According to Mr Olayinka, both suspects confessed to the crime and are currently assisting investigators in unravelling the wider transnational network to identify other accomplices.

The state commissioner of police, Femi Haruna, directed that the suspects be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.

He appreciated the residents, whose timely and credible information facilitated the arrests.