Licence to Kill: Lagos Robber Uses James Bond Pistol

By Dipo Kehinde

If a bandit in Lagos is asked for his name, he is not likely to say: The name is Bond. James Bond.

But Bond, the British screen hero has something in common with one Wasiu Adeleye, who was arrested for armed robberies by officers attached to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) in Lagos. They use the same type of pistol.

Nobody saw Adeleye’s ‘007’ status, during a parade of suspected armed robbers, at FSARS headquarters, Adeniji Adele, until the Chief Detective magazine reporter had a close look at his pistol.

Apart from its striking resemblance to Bond’s gun, the pistol also carries the emblem of the German manufacturers of the super spy’s weapon.

Adeleye later claimed in an exclusive interview that someone dashed him the Walter PPK gun worth £10, 800 on the manufacturer’s website.

According to authorities, in the span of Bond’s 46-year cinematic history, his MI6-issued handgun has been limited to three pistols: the Walther P99, the Walther PPK, and in one instance, the Walther P5. Of the three variants, the Walther PPK has been the most frequently used gun in James Bond’s arsenal. It has been featured in 16 of the 22 films made in the James Bond franchise. The P99, on the other hand, has appeared in 5 films.

The Walther PPK was released in 1931 by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen, a German arms manufacturer that specializes in handguns. The model name, PPK, is short for Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell, which translates to Police Pistol Detective Model. The reasoning behind its detective-centric title is that the gun is easily concealable and ideal for undercover operations. The PPK is a semiautomatic blowback-operated pistol that features a double-action trigger mechanism and an exposed hammer.

The PPK was largely popular in both police enforcement and the civilian sector. The popularity and prominence of the gun throughout Europe is believed to be the main reason Ian Fleming assigned the weapon to James Bond. Prior to the success of the James Bond series, the gun was primarily associated with the Nazi military. During World War II, the PPK was a standard issue pistol for the Nazi police, pilots, and party officials.

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