Police arrest two suspected stolen cars receivers

Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Lagos State Police Command have arrested two men who allegedly specialise in receiving stolen cars from robbers. The two men Messrs Moses Ubatuegwu aged (41) from Ndiezike Village Ihiala in Anambra State and Chidolue Christian (51) from Uruagu Nnewi in Anambra State have confessed to having received the stolen goods from the robbers.

While Ubatuegwu confessed that it was financial frustration and greed that made him not to resist the temptation, his accomplice said the money involved was so huge and tempting that no man who had suffered poverty and hunger would have the heart to resist the devil’s temptation.

They ran out of luck when the robbers were arrested and they gave the phone numbers of the two suspects to police who used them to track them down.

When the police traced them, over 40 cars were recovered from their car shops along Ajah-Lagos Road and from other parts of the country including Port Harcourt, and parts of northern states.

Narrating his involvement, Moses Ubatuegwu said: “I was an apprentice to one Ikechukwu Mmadubugwu at 14 Bright Street Onitsha. When I had finished learning the trade, he settled me with only N8, 000. With no one to complain to, I became frustrated. I had to relocate to Lagos State where I continued sale of second hand clothes. I came to Lagos to look for money because I could not open a shop at Onitsha with the N8, 000 my oga used to settle me.

“When I came to Lagos, I started selling second hand clothes at Yaba. Later, I made money and started going to Cotonou to buy bale of fairly used clothes at the cost of about N3, 000 to N4, 000 depending on the quality of the materials.”

On how he met Festus, one of the gang members who died during a gun duel with the police, he said: “When Customs officials seized my goods, I took up security job at Eleganza Plaza Ikoyi. That was in1996. I received N2, 600 as monthly salary then.

I worked there for five years and I made some savings with which I rented a shop at Ajah, Ado Road by Okera bus stop at the rate of N3, 000 per month. I was selling recharge cards there. It was where Festus used to come to make calls and we became close.

“I later resigned from Eleganza and joined Stanbic IBTC Bank still at Ikoyi as an office boy. I was earning N7, 500 per month.

“Then, my wife, Mrs Sandra, was managing my shop at Ajah. With the money I saved, I was able to buy a bus for transportation (“kabu-kabu”). I decided to drive the bus myself; hence I resigned from the bank to give full time to ‘kabu-kabu’ business.

“I had a conductor and I registered under Bonny Camp route. I was also given LASTMA route number for security reasons. My bus was impounded by LASTMA for double registration as Bonny Camp Group and LASTMA group had a confrontation with each other. I lost my bus in the process.

“It was in this situation that Festus saw me and asked me why I was sad and why I was no longer going to work. I told him what happened. He sympathised with me and said he would help me on the condition that I should get customers to buy cars which he would be sending to me. That was how I started selling cars for him.

“The first car he sent was a Toyota Corolla at the rate of N800, 000 which I sold to one man at the rate of N950, 000. I sold close to 15 cars 10 Hummer buses. I did not know initially that he had armed robbers who snatch the cars and buses for him because he told me that he was a police auctioneer who was empowered to sell recovered but unclaimed cars, buses, jeeps and trailers.

“It was when he had problem at Ajah Police Station over car issue that I became aware that they were stolen vehicles. I could not back out because of my financial situation.”

On what he did with all the money he got from the business, he said any money that is not clean is not always useful. On how he was arrested he said he later learnt that the acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adams Audu ordered O/C SARS Abba Kyari to fish out the receivers who were encouraging the armed robbers to snatch vehicles. Kyari used service provider to track me down.

Continuing, he said: “It was on January 16 this year when I received a call from a friend of mine who said I should meet somebody that will give me a car.

“When I got there, I saw Christian (aka Igwe). It was Chima who called me to come and meet the person at Sango area. I just came back from my village and when I got the call, I thought it was genuine. It was there that I met the SARS operative who handcuffed me and brought me here.”

If Festus gives you car he gives price and whatever you sell on top is yours. Toyota Corolla N800, 000, Toyota Camry 2.2 N700, 000 depending on how neat it is. What do you do with the extra money you made?

He said: “I reside at Ajah Royal Estate where I built two bedroom flats which Festus helped me to complete by connecting me with his friends who sell cement.”

Chidozie Christian, the second suspect resides at Lakue, Lekki Lagos. He said he is a transport manager at Darob Transport Company whose office is at Ijesha Lagos. He said: “Our five trucks broke down for lack of good drivers and the business stagnated, making the owner (managing director, Mr. Daves Chukwu from Nnewi to sell off the trucks. He gave me N1m.

“Later, one Chinedu from Mbano, Imo State introduced me to the business of buying cars from Cotonou. I bought Toyota Camry at N850, 000 there and sold it for N1.1m in Nigeria. I went again and bought another Camry bigger than the former at N1.250m and sold it for N1.5m. I also bought Toyota Corolla at N1.1m and sold it at the rate of N1.4m. I started car selling in January, 2011.

“On March 2011, I met one man called Ikechukwu Nwaizugbe at Ladipo Market. He bought drinks and pepper soup for everybody.

“While we were introducing ourselves, he said his mother was from Nnewi my home town. He asked me the type of business I was doing and I told him I sell cars. He promised he would supply cars to me for sale. He said he buys clothes from China and cars from Germany and send to Nigeria. We exchanged phone numbers.

“One day, he called me on phone that he had a jeep FJ Cruiser which he said he wanted to use as personal vehicle but decided to sell it to me to show how serious he meant to assist me.

I paid him N1.5m as the first installment since he sold it me at the rate of N1.7m. Later, I paid him the balance of N200, 000 and sold it at the rate of N2m. He later brought one Toyota Camry at N1.5m and I sold it for N1.9m. He brought a Toyota Camry at the rate of N1.5m and I sold it for N1.9m.

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