Police in Asaba, Delta state paraded a 25-year-old forex dealer and a student of a Turkish university, Meshack Sinuphro , who absounded with a Mercedez car 250 GLB,on Thursday.
The suspect who was arrested in Benin City, Edo state yesterday said he regretted his actions saying he was hypnotised to commit the crime.
He said, “I wish I didn’t do it, I regret my actions because it didn’t go well.”
He narrated how he absconded with the SVU vehicle worth N58m from Abuja to Ughelli in Delta state.
He said he approached the car dealer after he saw an advertisement and offered to pay the sum of N30m as against N58m, the real price.
“It was when we were negotiating that the dealer said I should test run the car, so both of us drove until we needed to buy fuel at a filling station. The man came down from the vehicle and said he wanted to collect money from POS. l waited for him for over 2 hours, and he didn’t show up, so l drove off.
He said his intention of absconding with the car was not to sell it but to use it as a private car.
He explained that he changed the four rims of the car somewhere along Okene- Benin road when he ran into a ditch that damaged one of them, adding that he never stopped at any checkpoint until he got to Ughelli.
The 300level business administration student said he didn’t abandon the vehicle at Oteri road in Ughelli as earlier reported adding:
“I parked the car and travelled to Benin to see my brother who earlier called me that he was arrested.
Parading the suspect, the state police public relations officer DSP Bright Edafe explained how the detectives in the state recovered the car from Ughelli.
He advised car dealers not to give their keys to customers who insist to test run vehicles before purchase, just as owners of vehicles should be mindful of leaving their keys to car washers.