Operatives of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Alagbon, Lagos, have seized a container carrying 300 rounds of 9mm ammunition concealed in a Nissan Frontier pickup truck.
The consignment also contained two Toyota Sienna vans, one SCION XA vehicle, 24 bags of foreign rice, seven bales of used clothes, cartons of vegetable oil and household items, Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) Margaret Ochalla, said yesterday.
The AIG, who displayed the items at a news conference, said five suspects were arrested in connection with the contraband items, including the driver, Nelson Peretei.
According to a statement by the spokesperson for the command, Assistant Superintendent of Police Aminat Mayegun, investigators traced the shipment to a United States-based sender, Mrs Maria Adeyemi, who allegedly failed to declare the ammunition and other contraband in the bill of lading.
A man, who claimed to be a retired U.S. Marine Colonel, Sunny Nwadiri, also attempted to claim ownership of the ammunition but could not provide verifiable details, the FCID alleged.
‘Preliminary findings showed that the contraband and ammunition were deliberately concealed to evade security checks at the port. ‘Further investigations underway. The FCID is working with the Nigeria Customs Service and the Department of State Services (DSS) to trace the source of the ammunition, its intended destination, and possible links to wider criminal networks,’ the department added.
It said detectives also dismantled an alleged online movie piracy syndicate, arresting a ringleader who unlawfully uploaded movies on TikTok and shared them to viewers on Whatsapp for a fee.
‘Acting on a petition from FilmOne Entertainment Limited, operatives arrested a suspect who unlawfully uploaded the movie ”Owambe Thieves” on TikTok on August 23, 2025. He charged viewers N1,000 for access to the pirated film and distributed full copies via WhatsApp.’
‘Investigations showed he sourced the movie from an illegal website and had been involved in the piracy of several Nollywood titles, including ”Farmers Bride”, ”Thinline” and ”Alakada Bad” and ”Bourjee”.
‘A forensic analysis of two seized iPhones uncovered lists of buyers and pirated movies shared through WhatsApp and Telegram. The suspect’s OPay account showed inflows and outflows totalling about N7.6 million over two months, believed to be proceeds of piracy and cyber fraud. He has been arraigned in court,’ the statement added.
According to Mayegun, AIG Ochalla reaffirmed the department’s commitment to tackling cybercrime, protecting intellectual property, and combating arms trafficking, urging the public to continue providing credible information to support policing efforts.’