The Bayelsa police command says it has arrested a 68-year-old man and his 36-year-old son for illegally possessing four single-barrelled firearms.

The command announced this in a statement on Wednesday by its spokesman, Musa Mohammed.

Mr Mohammed said that operatives of the anti-vice unit made the arrest on Monday at about 10:30 a.m., adding that the suspects hailed from Futoro Gbene community in Ekeremor council area.

He also said that the suspects were intercepted in a tricycle during a routine stop-and-search operation along the Igbogene-Tombia Expressway, Yenagoa.

According to him, a search of the tricycle revealed the guns concealed inside a sack and covered with sticks.

”When interrogated, the suspects reportedly told operatives that they were travelling to Abua in Rivers.

”The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Yenagoa, for a discreet investigation to ascertain the source of the firearms and identify any other persons connected with the offence,” Mr Mohammed said.

The police commissioner, Iyamah Edebor, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to tackling the proliferation of illegal firearms and other violent crimes in the state.

Mr Edebor also urged residents to continue providing timely and credible information to aid security efforts.

(NAN)