Security operatives recover 21 AK-47 rifles and four machine guns in Sokoto as the agency intensifies its crackdown on suspected arms couriers across several states.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has intercepted a major consignment of weapons and ammunition allegedly smuggled into Nigeria from the Niger Republic.
The consignment, comprising 21 AK-47 rifles, four PKT machine guns and 825 magazines, was intercepted by DSS operatives in Dawakawa, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, following surveillance of suspected terrorist networks.
A security source disclosed that the operation followed intelligence gathering on suspected terror cells attempting to move weapons into the country. The source added that increased interceptions had forced criminal groups to adopt alternative methods of transporting illegal arms, including the use of women and camels.
The latest operation comes after the arrest of a suspected female arms courier, Hafsat Umar, in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State earlier in the week. She was allegedly found with 12 grenades and two ammunition belts and is said to be the 14th female arms courier arrested by the service between February 2025 and November 2026.
Intelligence reports reportedly indicated that Umar had travelled to Niger State to source ammunition for delivery to a suspected bandit leader, Saidu Marafa, in Kani Kawa, Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The DSS has recorded similar arrests across Zamfara, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Taraba, Kaduna and Plateau states. Among them was the arrest of Aisha Mohammed in Keffi, Nasarawa State, last month, where operatives allegedly recovered 202 rounds of 7.62mm AK-47 ammunition and three empty magazines from her.
In September 2026, two other suspected couriers, Chika Aguzie and Blessing Nwamba, were arrested at separate locations in Ebonyi State over alleged arms and explosives supplies to commanders of the outlawed Eastern Security Network (ESN), identified as Chinonso Amobi Okafor, also known as Temple, and B44. Fourteen wraps of improvised explosive device detonators were reportedly recovered during the operation.
Other arrests cited by the source include Rabiatu Halidu, who was allegedly found with 501 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition in Nasarawa State in August; Aisha Ibrahim, arrested with 975 rounds of ammunition in Zamfara in February; and Sakina Muhammad and Badariyya Abubakar, arrested along the Wukari-Jalingo Road in Taraba State in January with an AK-47 rifle, ammunition and empty magazines.
The agency also recorded several arrests in 2025, including Rahane Sanusi, who was allegedly transporting ammunition from an illegal arms dealer in Sokoto to a suspected bandit in Zamfara. Other women arrested during the period included Suwaiba Abubakar, Halima Umar, Firdausi Haruna, Saidya Ibrahim and Fatima Sani.
Meanwhile, the DSS has secured convictions in terrorism-related cases involving female arms couriers. The Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced three women — Halima Abdullahi, Safiya Salihu and Halima Umar — to 20 years’ imprisonment each after their arraignment on terrorism-related charges.
The security source said Hafsat Umar would also be charged to court, adding that the service would sustain intelligence-led operations to identify and apprehend individuals involved in illegal arms trafficking.