Operatives of the Kwara State Police Command have arrested eight suspected illegal miners in the state.
They also recovered three marble loaded trailers in Patigi Local Government Area of the state.
According to the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, in Ilorin on Thursday, the police acted on a petition and a letter written to the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State, Paul Odama, by the residents and natives of Patigi in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State and the Association of Licenced Miners of Kwara State to the effect that illegal miners have turned their ancestral lands to a beehive of illegal mining of the mineral resources thereby causing ecological problem and sabotage to the economy of both the state and the federal government.
“Based on this petition, a team of Kwara State Police Command’s operatives were dispatched to the area to arrest and if possible recover and impound any illegally mined minerals in the said area.
“The police team swung into action and on 30/10/2022 at about 0200hrs the suspects named hereunder were arrested with three trailer loads of suspected marbles illegally mined.
The suspects include Abdulbagi Sadiq ‘m’ aged 28 years with a Trailer with registration number SGM 222 ZR, Isah Amisu ‘m’ aged 28 years with a Trailer with registration number GBE 347ZE, Mohammed Zanihat Idris aged 27 years ‘m’ with a Trailer with registration number BWR 151 YL, Alhassan Rabiu ‘m’, Mohammed Abdulbagi ‘m’, Ibrahim Sule Balarabe ‘m’ Mohammed Dalhatu Idris and Abubakar Tasiu.
The spokesman revealed that the suspects were arrested along Share, Tsaragi and Patigi areas of the state.
Exhibits recovered have been transported to the state police headquarters, while the suspects after interrogation and confessions have been charged to court, the spokesman added.
The command stated with all sense of responsibility that economic sabotage and any acts inimical to the health and security of lives and property of the citizens and people of the state would be resisted.
The CP advised the good people of Kwara state to join hands with the police to rid the state of all forms of criminality.