KANO, Jun 18 – An aircraft from Ukraine carrying arms and heading for Equatorial Guinea was intercepted and its crew detained Wednesday after landing at a northern Nigerian airport, officials said.
The Russian-made jet was stopped on arrival at the Aminu Kano International Airport in the city of Kano after making an emergency landing at 4:00 am (0300 GMT) due to a technical fault, security and airport officials said.
Eighteen crates of arms were found aboard the aircraft when it was searched, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Details of the arms and aircraft fault were not disclosed.
The three Ukrainian crew members, including the pilot, are being detained by officials of the state security service pending investigations into the aircraft’s mission, they said.
The aircraft, with registration number UR-CAC, is being guarded by soldiers at the airport, they added.
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