Anti-robbery operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have smashed an armed robbery syndicate specialising in dispossessing unsuspecting Nigerians of their vehicles at gunpoint.
The police public relations officer, DSP Timfon John, disclosed this to journalists in Uyo, the state capital yesterday.
She said three suspects were arrested at scrap sites behind the popular Mechanic Village, along Abak Road, while dismembering stolen vehicles.
John noted that most missing vehicles could not be traced because the criminals already have a ready market where the vehicles are butchered and the parts sold as scrap for willing buyers.
She said: “In a proactive operation targeting stolen vehicles and goods, operatives of the Command successfully apprehended three suspects at scrap dumps within Uyo metropolis.
“The operation was conducted in compliance with directives of the Commissioner of Police (CP), Baba Azare, regarding cases of stolen cars.
“At approximately 4:30pm, officers stormed a scrap dump yard located at Mechanic Village, Abak Road, Uyo. There, they arrested one suspect, Uzoma Uche, who was found dismembering a Peugeot 404 pick-up van.
The vehicle lacked identifying particulars, leading officers to the suspect it was stole from. Shortly thereafter, at another scrap metal dump, two additional male suspects, one Alhassan Haliru 29, and one Aminu Zailai, 30, were apprehended while attempting to sell a set of new spanners.
“Upon their arrest and subsequent interrogation, both individuals confessed to stealing the spanners from a local tools shop,” she stated, adding that investigations were ongoing.
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