The Kano State Police command has arrested 13 persons with fake international passports and ECOWAS travel certificates.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Muhammad Katsina disclosed this on Tuesday in Kano, while briefing Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje.

He said the suspects, who were on their way to Libya, were apprehended at Kwana Dangora village in Benefit Local Government Area of the state.

“The suspects are four females and nine males; their mission was to travel to Libya, but investigation will reveal what they want to go there to do,” he said.

The commissioner said from January to date, the command had also arrested a total of 45 other suspects, including armed robbers, vehicle thieves and cattle rustlers, among others.

Katsina said the command had recovered large quantity of cocaine powder with estimated value of about N2 billion.

He said other items recovered include 1,068 cartons of unregistered intoxicating drugs worth N600 million, in addition to large quantity of Indian hemp worth about N250 million.

“The command was also able to recover eight arms, 23 motor vehicles, 43 motorcycles and 250 bags of right rice.

“The rest are 41 cows, 12 goats, seven sheep and N13.7 million cash,” he said.

In his remarks, Ganduje commended the commissioner for his efforts in the fight against criminals in the state.

He, however, called on courts in the state to ensure that the suspects were prosecuted appropriately in order to serve as deterrent to others who might contemplate committing the same crime. (NAN)