Yemi Akinsuyi/
A hacker who changes mobile phone identities and a gunrunner who made millions on naira importing AK47 rifles from Niger Republic to sell to criminals in Nigeria were among 108 suspects paraded by the police in Abuja on Wednesday.
Those paraded also included suspected kidnappers, armed robbers, drug traffickers and bandits arrested by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
According to the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Frank Mba, who paraded the suspects in Abuja on Wednesday, the police also recovered 30 firearms, including rifles, locally produced pistols, and 1,520 live ammunition from the gang members who were arrested during various operations.
Mba said that illicit drugs were also recovered from the suspects.
He added that the IRT apprehended a Nigerien, Abdullahi Ali, who specialized in altering the International Mobile Equipment Identity number of stolen mobile phones.
Ali, 29, from Maradi, Niger Republic, said he used apps to alter the IMEI of phones, adding that he was taught the skill by someone.
“I was taught how to change phone IMEI by some people and I also repair and sell phones and chargers,” he revealed through an interpreter.
The suspect was prevented by the police from giving details of his activities.
A suspected gun-runner, Adamu Numan, who sold firearms to criminal gangs disclosed that he had supplied over seven AK47 rifles to bandits, adding that he made a profit of about N150,000 on each rifle.
He said, “I buy each AK47 rifle for N450,000 and sell for between N650,000 and N700,000. I have sold over seven rifles and 200 ammunition to bandits. I buy them from Muhammadu Halilu in the Niger Republic; this is the second time I was arrested.”
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