A
suspected traffic robber arrested by the police in Lagos State, Biodun Omoyeni,
says his gang stole 19 phones and three laptops from motorists by lying to the
victims that the tyres of their vehicles had deflated.
It's learnt that 22-year-old Omoyeni, who hails from Ibadan, Oyo State, was
arrested on Saturday by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad on the
Lekki-Ajah Expressway during operation.
While
Omoyeni was arrested, the other gang member, identified only as Rasaq, 24,
reportedly fled from the scene.
The
police said the duo usually raised false alarm that vehicles’ tyres had been
deflated; and when motorists came down to see the damage, one of the gang
members would steal valuables from the cars.
Speaking, Omoyeni said he and four others trained as robbers in the
Mushin area before they relocated to the Lekki-Ajah Expressway.
The
suspect, who claimed to have gone into robbery because of joblessness, said he
was not an armed robber as he did not carry any weapon.
He
said, “I met Rasaq in Ikorodu. He was homeless and we had been to four
operations together. We stole up to 19 phones in the operations. We always
operate in the Ajah area.
“Once
there is traffic, we strategise to operate. My friend would call a motorist
that the tyre of his car was punctured and while he came down, we would steal
phones, money, wallets, and other valuables from the other side of the vehicle
through the window.”
One
of the motorists, said to have fallen for the suspects’ trick, identified only
as Eugene, said he failed to roll up the glasses of his vehicle, adding that
they stole three phones.
We learnt that one of the buyers of the stolen phones had also been arrested
by the police. It was gathered that the buyer bought some of the phones for
N2,500, and others for N3,500.
Our
correspondent learnt that all the suspects had been transferred to the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad in Ikeja.
The
Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the arrest,
stating that there would be no place for criminals in the state.
#PUNCH Metro
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