Troops arrest suspected illegal mining kingpin, three others in FCT

Troops of the 176 Guards Battalion have arrested a suspected illegal mining kingpin and three other suspects during a raid on illegal mining sites in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The operation was disclosed in a post shared on X on Wednesday night by security analyst, Zagazola Makama.

According to the post, the raid was carried out at about 8:30 p.m. on July 13 in Dukpa Community, following intelligence gathered after the arrest of a group of illegal miners in the area on July 7.

Makama said the troops stormed identified illegal mining sites, where they arrested a suspected sponsor believed to be the leader of the operation, alongside three other suspects.

During preliminary interrogation, the main suspect allegedly admitted to sponsoring the illegal mining activities and told investigators that he recruited labourers from Katsina State to carry out the operations in the FCT.

“Items recovered during the operation included a motorcycle, two digging tools, seven filter carpets, seven pumping machine nozzles, 53 wraps of suspected cannabis, ₦360,400 in cash, and other mining equipment,” Makama wrote.

According to military sources quoted in the post, the suspects and the recovered items are in military custody pending further investigation before being handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.

The post added that the operation is part of ongoing anti-illegal mining efforts under Operation MESA, aimed at dismantling illegal mining networks, protecting national resources, and addressing security challenges linked to illegal mining activities in the Federal Capital Territory.