A 31-year-old suspected robber arrested for allegedly being a serial car
thief, on Wednesday confessed that he was a kleptomaniac, who had been
stealing since childhood.Joshua Tabiti, a driver and father of two, was arrested by operatives of
the Zonal Intervention Squad (ZIS) of the Assistant Inspector-General
of Police (AIG), Zone II, Onikan.
Tabiti was paraded yesterday alongside his alleged accomplices Oluseye
Arokoyo, 34, Ahmed Alli, 24 and the receiver of the stolen vehicles,
31yrs old Moses Ofoke.
It was gathered that the suspects were arrested after their mobile phones were tracked and told that they needed cars.
A source told The Nation that the suspects stole three vehicles the day
they were caught, adding that 26 vehicles including 11 traced to Ondo
State and three gotten from Delta, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and
Nasarawa states had been recovered.
Although police claimed the gang had stolen over 26 Toyota Camry cars
from Oworoshoki, Bariga and Somolu areas of Lagos, they admitted to have
taken part in the theft of about 11 since March.
According to Tabiti, he had done everything possible to quit stealing
without success, adding that his parents also tried their best to stop
him.
He said: “I started doing this job after I was sacked for stealing my
boss’ N200,000 where I worked in Victoria Island. My friend introduced
me to car theft in March. I have stolen 11 vehicles from Oworonshoki,
Bariga and Somolu.
“What we do is to go out around 2am. A man cuts a master key for us to
steal Toyota cars. We open the car and kick-start the ignition. We don’t
rob at gunpoint. We got the key for N1000 or N2000.
“After stealing it, we send the cars to Ondo to two buyers. The first
car we took was a Nissan Salon car. We sold it for N100,000. The other
one was a Toyota Camry which we sold for N200,000. Others we sold for
N300,000. We were four but three were arrested. The other man has fled.
We usually share the money. I used my own money to rent a house and
bought household items.”
A barber turned robber, Ali said he knew Tabiti at his barbing saloon,
adding that the latter lured him into the crime with promise to give him
funds for his mother’s memorial.
Ali said: “He came one day and said my shop was boring. I was thinking
of how to raise money for my mum’s remembrance when Joshua said he would
assist me. The first time he went alone. Other times I followed him. I
followed him to Ondo State twice to deliver some of the stolen cars.
“He told me about the master key and how they steal the car. We go out
around 2am. We always monitor streets to avoid security presence before
going to rob.”
A former guard, Ofoke, said he provided information to the gang on
streets where vehicles were parked and there were no security.
He said: “This is my first time of following them. The barber told me I
was always wearing one clothe and he could help me out of my situation,
He told me I should take them to streets without security. The very
first day I followed them was the day we were caught.
Arokoyo, a resident of Igbokoda in Ondo State, said he received seven vehicles from the suspects.
He said: “I am a driver. I sold some of the cars and used others to
work. I did not know they were stolen until we were arrested. They told
me the vehicles were from customs. One of them said he was a soldier. I
bought some of the cars for N100,000 and I sold for N250,000. The ones I
bought N300,000, I sold for N400,000.
“It was Joshua who called me that he wanted to sell a vehicle. The
numbers he gave me were those of a policeman. And that was how we were
arrested.”
Parading the suspects, AIG Ibrahim Adamu commended the ZIS operatives for the feat.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Tolulope Basirat Adeoyethe notorious bully on Facebook, once again exposed herself on live chat
Abike jagaban, the notorious bully on Facebook, once again exposed herself on live chat yesterday. While she was on her live program, she ...
-
Lizzy Anjorin On Husband-Snatching Scandal: I’m Not Dating Married London Man Wese Peckam, His Pregnant Wife Telling Lies About Me
-
The Nigerian street hawker, Salle who had gained popularity after singing beautifully in a viral video has revealed that the famous Americ...
-
A woman lying on a trolley bed at the A&E unit of Sheffield Hospital had her mobile phone stolen from her hand by another woman carer ...
No comments:
Post a Comment