Police Arrest Native Doctor, 25 Others Over Vehicle Thefts In Rivers

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have impounded a shrine as well as arrested a native doctor and 25 others suspected to be involved car snatching in the state.

Parading the suspects at the Command headquarters in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, the Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, said three of the suspects identified as Chidube, Anthony and Kelechi were major culprits in the car snatching business.

CP Disu disclosed that while Chidube trained his men on car snatching and he is linked to all suspects arrested, Kelechi is an expert in removing trackers from the stolen cars and he is a wonderful mechanic.

The Police Commissioner stated that most of the cars stolen were taken to Kano and Anambra States, where they dismantled and sold them as scraps.

He further stated that 79 cars have been linked to the suspects, pointing out that most of the suspects met at a correctional centre.

On their modus of operandi, Disu said the suspects used master key to snatch vehicles and convert it to commercial vehicles and drive out of town with passengers to beat security check.

The Police Commissioner stated that the command also arrested receivers of the vehicles who come into town with the robbers and tell them the kind of cars to be stolen.

He said: “Their witch doctor has been arrested. He tells them when is safe to go for operation.

“We also have a team of robbers who fellow you when you go to bank. When you resist them, they attack and fire you.

“Their firearms have been recovered. Residents should put safety devices in their vehicle and be watchful.”

The Police Commissioner added that 17 cars have been recovered so far and some of them returned to their owners.