The Special Tactical Squad (STS), of the Nigeria Police Force, has smashed a two-man car-stealing gang and recovered 21 exotic cars from the group allegedly led by a 34-year-old graduate of one of the federal polytechnics in the country.
Tribune Online reports that this was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, Frank Mba a Deputy Commissioner of Police.
The statement revealed that this came after painstaking efforts and investigations by operatives of the STS to hunt down suspects whose operational base was the car park of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos Plateau State.
It further revealed that the gang leader was specialised in using customised master key crafted out of screwdriver to open and start targeted vehicles at the car park due to the relaxed security architecture within the complex.
According to the statement, “Police investigations show that their choices of cars are ones without special security features such as pedal or steering locks.”
It stated that already 15 suspected receivers of the recovered stolen of the exotic vehicles have been nabbed from various locations in Funtua, Gusau, Sokoto, Tsafe and Marafa, Sokoto State.
“Police investigations reveal that their choice cars are Toyota products, Honda products, and Volkswagen especially the Golf brand because these brand of cars are in high demand by criminal receivers, either in whole or in parts across the country and other neighbouring countries,” the statement added.
Consequently, it advised members of the public whose cars were stolen between January 2019 and March 2020, within the premises of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) to come forward for possible identification and recovery immediately.
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In a related development, a 28-year-old female armourer has been arrested alongside her gang of kidnappers and armed robbers who are specialised in attacking innocent Nigerians around Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna and Niger States.
The statement said that as an armourer, the female suspect was responsible for ensuring the safety of the weapons being used by the gang whenever not in use.
According to the statement, “the suspect who confessed of being the gang’s armourer for over a year, claimed to receive a handsome reward each time the weapons were returned to her after each operation.
“She acknowledged knowing that the arms which she usually kept in a neatly dug hole in her compound were used for robberies, kidnapping and other criminal purposes.
“Investigations show that suspect who is a trader and single mother of two was recruited by her boyfriend Abubakar Usman. Since they began operations, the gang is estimated to have made over twelve million Naira from their various criminal activities.”
Recovered from the gang are 5 AK47 rifles, 1 G3 rifle,1 Berretta pistol,1476 rounds of ammunition, 36 rounds of G3 ammunition, 6 AK47 magazine, 1 operational vehicle, 8 mobile phones and a box containing operational tools.
The Police assured that all the suspects would be charged to court after the conclusion of ongoing investigations.
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