By CHRISTOPHER ORJI and CHIOMA IGBOKWE with agency report
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Six Iranians were yesterday arrested at Medina Estate, Gbagada, Lagos, in connection with the arm and ammunition discovered in 13 shipping containers in Lagos recently. They were arrested in the compound of one Alhaja Soyibat Mogaji, who owns a factory, where the Iranians work.
Saturday Sun gathered that plain clothe security men, who effected the arrest, also took some documents after ransacking the entire building.
Before the Iranians were arrested, one of the security operatives believed to be a member of the State Security Service (SSS) was heard shouting on top of his voice: “You have been indicted in the imported explosives saga; you are to come with us and explain yourselves, ”
The whereabouts of the Iranian nationals is not yet known, as the 85-year-old Mogaji, who boycotted yesterday’s Jumat over the arrest in his premises has expressed fear over the fate of her workers.
According to a reliable police source, the arrest was based on series of petitions written by clearing agents that the Iranians may have a hand in the importation of those arms and ammunitions,
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at the port, as Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, has ordered the stationing of anti-bomb unit and joint military patrol permanently there. There were slow activities at the port yesterday, as people were afraid of possible explosion and arrest by the police.
Also, security has been beefed up at the borders. Vehicles coming into Nigeria from neighbouring countries, like Ghana, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire through Seme are thoroughly searched before being allowed entry.
In a related development, agency report in Jerusalem said that the discovery could signify that Iran is trying to develop a new route to smuggle arms and explosives to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, defence officials said.
According to agency report, Iran has been known to use ports in Sudan and Eritrea to unload weaponry and then take same over land, via Egypt, to the Philadelphi Corridor – the 14-kilometer strip of land between Egypt and the Gaza Strip – where the weaponry is then smuggled by tunnels to Hamas.
The largest rocket appeared to be a 107-mm. Katyusha, which Iran is known to manufacture and which makes up the backbone of Hezbollah and Hamas’ arsenals.
The authorities said that it was possible the discovery of the arms and ammunitions in Nigeria means Iran has abandoned the Sudanese route, due to the difficulty it has encountered in operating in the Red Sea, under international surveillance.
Agency report has it that Israel also operates throughout the Red Sea, revealing last year that navy submarines and missile ships regularly passed through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea for operations.
Earlier this week, IDF Chief of General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said that the navy’s elite commando unit Flotilla 13 – known as the Shayetet – had recently conducted an operation “far away from Israel.”
He said that if Iran were using Nigeria as a port, it would also entail a major logistical operation to facilitate the transfer of the weapons by land from Nigeria, Chad, and Sudan and then via Egypt.
In January 2009, Israel reportedly bombed a convoy of trucks that was carrying advanced weaponry destined for Gaza, as it was travelling through the Sudanese desert.
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