A trailer loaded with 369 bags of iron monazite has been intercepted by the operatives of the Taraba State Special Taskforce Committee in Garba Chede town of Bali local government council of the state.
The intercepted items which DAILY POST learnt were worth a monetary value of over N20 million, were said to have been discovered in a trailer with registration number KWM 427 XA Gombe State.
A member of the committee, who spoke with our reporter, said the trailer loaded the iron monazite from Serti, the administrative headquarters of the Gashaka local government council.
According to him, the operatives of the special taskforce committee arrested the trailer while on an intensive patrol across the central zone of the state where iron monazite is obtained in large quantities.
Reacting to the arrest, the Chairman of the taskforce, retired General Jeremiah Aliyu Faransa, pledged the STF’s total commitment to performing its duties, saying there is no going back in doing what will benefit the state.
Iron monazite is a mineral resource used in developing high-technology weapons and aircraft components.
The arrested culprits are Abdulrahaman Nuhu thirty (30) and Abdulmaleek Zubairu (28).
Others are Abdullahi Khalil (25), Musa Bawa Galadima (38), Mohammed Abubakar (32), Ayuba Musa (22), and Abubakar Abba Hashim (25).
The state government had said it was losing huge revenue to the illegal miners, prompting the inauguration of the committee.
Governor Agbu Kefas had put Executive Order 5 in place to establish the special taskforce committee members to curb the excesses of miners in the state.
Taskforce nabs trailer load of iron monazite in Taraba