Police catch members of car theft gang in Oyo

The Oyo State Police Command has broken up a criminal group that stole expensive cars and sold them outside Nigeria.

In a statement on Wednesday, the command said they arrested two suspects and recovered a stolen Lexus RX 350 SUV during an operation along the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway.

This operation came after police got information from a suspect already in custody for armed robbery, according to the command’s spokesperson, Olayinka Ayanlade.

The arrested suspect revealed that he knew a gang that specialized in receiving stolen cars and moving them across Nigeria’s borders.

The police said they allowed the suspect to use his phone carefully. During this time, members of the gang sent him photos of a car they planned to steal.

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

The operation began when the Oyo Police received a request from the Kwara State Police on August 24. They were asked to help stop a 2017 Lexus RX 350 SUV allegedly stolen at gunpoint from a woman in Ilorin. The vehicle was taken along with other valuables belonging to her.

After getting the alert, the Commissioner of Police in Oyo, Abimbola Ayodeji, told the Commander of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) to send officers to the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway to intercept the vehicle.

According to the Command, VCRU officers saw the Lexus and tried to stop it around 4 a.m. on Tuesday. But the people inside the car reportedly abandoned it and ran into the bush.

The police chased after them and arrested two men, Adewale Abiola, 33, and Kabiru Abobarin, 36. One of the suspects was shot in his left foot during the operation.

When the police searched the recovered SUV, they found several items belonging to the victim, including four HP laptops, an iPhone 15 Pro Max, seven wristwatches, and some jewellery.

Police suspect cross-border car theft

The command said early questioning showed that the two suspects received the vehicle from members of the gang that stole it in Ilorin, Kwara State.

They also told investigators that they were taking the SUV towards the border. They expected to get an ECOWAS document to help them move it across the border for sale in another country.

The police did not say which foreign country was involved or how many vehicles the gang may have trafficked before.

The command said the investigation is ongoing to find and arrest other members of the gang and break up the larger criminal network.