The Katsina State Police Command has arrested four men after uncovering 70 railway sleepers allegedly concealed beneath bags of animal feed in a vehicle.
The suspects, identified as Anas Abdullahi, 25, Nasir Nuhu, Salisu Yusuf and Nuru Bala, were intercepted at about 12.30 am on October 11 along Kurfi-Tsanni Village Road during a routine stop-and-search operation.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Sadiq, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, adding that the sleepers were hidden behind 17 bags of animal feed in a white J5 vehicle with registration number BAU 821 ZY.
According to Sadiq, preliminary investigations revealed that Nuhu claimed to have received the materials from Anas Moh’d, a man from Bauchi State who is currently at large.
The stolen items were allegedly meant for delivery to another suspect, identified as Umar Bashir, in Katsina.
The police said the four suspects remained in custody, while the vehicle, railway sleepers and animal feed had been recovered as exhibits.
Efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects and determine the origin of the vandalised railway materials.
The Commissioner of Police, Ali Umar Fage, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting critical national infrastructure and urged residents to provide useful information to aid the fight against vandalism.