By Kenneth Ehigiator
LAGOS — Nigeria Customs Services, NCS, yesterday, impounded a cache of abandoned arms and ammunition in the strong room of the Nigeria Aviation Handling Company Limited, NAHCO, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

Customs Area Comptroller, Customs Command of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Mr Michael Adewole, who disclosed this in Lagos, said efforts were on to track down owners of the deadly weapons.

He listed the impounded weapons to include six double barrels pistol, one single barrel pistol, one pump action riffle, one Uzzi, two magazines, one barretta pistol as well as one becheverria pistol.

Adewole listed the ammunition to include 20 pieces of 5.56 mm calibre, 19 cartridges, 12 by 12 500 pieces of blank armour and a sealed box of cartridges, and the servicing accessories as four pieces of pull trough, two brushes, oil riffle bag as well as a sling colt belt.

He said the seized weapons were absolutely prohibited items that should not be allowed into the country, except by government security agencies.

He disclosed that the customs swung into action following security information it received.

Adewole said Customs action was borne out of the desire to improve security at the airport, adding that the seized weapons had been taken to government Customs warehouse to enable the police conduct its own investigations into the matter.

It would be recalled that due to the high level insecurity in the country at present, security agencies around the airport, including the State Security Services, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Air Force, and Nigeria Intelligence Agency had been carrying out surveillance activities around the airport to forestal any untoward development..