The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) said it has dismantled a syndicate involved in the vandalism and trafficking of telecommunications infrastructure in Cross River State, arresting a suspected scrap metal dealer believed to be a major receiver of stolen equipment.
The breakthrough followed an intelligence-led operation that led to the arrest of 24-year-old Abdulraman Suleiman, alias Fulani, at Odukpani LGA.
He is alleged to have served as a key receiver of components stolen from telecom facilities by members of the syndicate.
The arrest came after operatives apprehended 23-year-old Bassey Bassey Inyang on July 15 while allegedly attempting to vandalise an ATC Base Transceiver Station (BTS) at Odukpani Junction.
According to a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Orok Kinini-Iyeme, Inyang confessed during interrogation that he had repeatedly stripped equipment from telecom installations and sold the stolen items to Suleiman.
He said acting on the intelligence, State Commandant Okarazu Chima deployed a joint team of intelligence officers, Critical National Assets and Infrastructure (CNAI) operatives and personnel from the Odukpani Division.
The team raided Suleiman’s hideout beneath the Odukpani Flyover on July 18, leading to his arrest.
During the operation, operatives recovered a large radio mounting frame identified as part of the vandalised ATC facility.
Although Suleiman admitted purchasing the items from the principal suspect on two occasions, he claimed he did not know they were stolen.
Reacting to the development, Commandant Chima described the operation as a major breakthrough in the fight against economic sabotage, stressing that telecommunications infrastructure remained critical to communication services, business operations and national development.