Oyo: Police bust trans-border car theft syndicate, arrest two

Oyo State Police Command has disrupted an alleged transnational criminal network involved in the trafficking of stolen exotic vehicles across Nigeria’s borders, arresting two suspects and recovering a 2017 Lexus RX 350 SUV along the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway.

The Command disclosed this on Wednesday in a statement made available to journalists, saying the intelligence-led operation was carried out by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) at about 4 am on Tuesday.

According to the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, the operation followed information obtained from a suspect already in police custody in connection with an armed robbery case.

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The suspect, who is being interrogated over the robbery involving about 10 victims who have so far come forward to give statements, allegedly disclosed his knowledge of a criminal gang specialising in receiving stolen vehicles and conveying them across Nigeria’s borders for sale in foreign countries.

The operation was triggered after the Oyo Command received a request from the Kwara State Police Command on August 24 to help intercept the Lexus SUV, which was allegedly stolen at gunpoint from a woman at her residence in Ilorin, Kwara State, alongside other valuables.

Following the alert, the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, CP Abimbola Ayodeji, directed the VCRU commander to deploy operatives along the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway to intercept the vehicle.

The Command said operatives later sighted the Lexus and attempted to stop it, prompting its occupants to allegedly abandon the vehicle and flee into the bush in different directions.

According to the statement, operatives subsequently allowed the suspect in custody to use his mobile phone under controlled circumstances, during which members of the alleged syndicate sent him photographs of a vehicle they were preparing to steal.

“They instructed him to make proper arrangements for its reception, preparation and movement across the border for sale in a foreign country.”

The police said operatives pursued the suspects and arrested two men identified as Adewale Abiola, 33, and Kabiru Abobarin, 36.

One of the suspects reportedly sustained a gunshot wound to his left foot during the chase.

A search of the recovered SUV allegedly led to the recovery of several items belonging to the victim, including four HP laptops, an iPhone 15 Pro Max, seven wristwatches and jewellery.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the two arrested suspects received the vehicle from members of the gang responsible for stealing it in Ilorin, Kwara,” the statement said.

The suspects also allegedly told investigators that they were transporting the SUV towards the border, where an ECOWAS document was expected to be obtained to facilitate its movement across the border for sale in another country.

The police did not identify the alleged foreign destination or disclose the number of vehicles the network may have previously trafficked.

CP Ayodeji commended the operatives for the operation and assured residents that the Command remained committed to dismantling criminal networks in the state.

He said the investigation had been expanded to identify and arrest other members of the alleged syndicate and dismantle what he described as the wider transnational criminal network.

The Commissioner urged members of the public to remain vigilant and provide credible information to assist the police in preventing and detecting crime.