The Yobe State Police Command has dismantled an illegal firearms fabrication workshop in Potiskum, arresting seven suspected gunmakers and seizing a cache of locally made weapons and components.

Police said the operation was carried out by operatives of the Potiskum Area Command in conjunction with officers from the Divisional Police Headquarters, acting on intelligence that a group of blacksmiths was secretly producing guns for undisclosed clients.

The raid targeted a blacksmith workshop at Tasha Adua, along Danchuwa Road in Potiskum. According to the command, officers stormed the premises and apprehended the suspects while work was ongoing on various weapon parts.

Items recovered from the scene included two fabricated pistols, 24 muzzle pipes, nine gun butts, four unserviceable Dane guns, a filing machine and a cutlass. Investigators believe the seized components were part of a wider production line for locally made firearms that could have been supplied to criminal groups.

Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dungus Abdulkarim, described the discovery as a significant breakthrough in ongoing efforts to curb the proliferation of illegal arms in Yobe State. He said the suspects are in custody and are being interrogated to uncover their supply network, possible financiers and the final destinations of the weapons.

Abdulkarim explained that detectives are working to determine how long the workshop had been in operation and whether it is linked to other clandestine gunmaking centres within and beyond the state. He noted that the sophistication of some of the recovered items suggests a level of expertise that may have been honed over time.

The Commissioner of Police, Usman Kanfani Jibrin, has ordered an expanded investigation aimed at tracking down additional illegal fabrication sites and assessing the broader security implications of such activities. The command is also liaising with other security agencies to share intelligence and prevent the movement of illicit arms across state lines.

Authorities have urged residents to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious workshops, unusual movements of metal parts or tools, and any signs of covert weapons trading. The police stressed that community cooperation remains crucial in identifying hidden arms factories and disrupting the supply of weapons to criminals.