Police arrest suspected cross-border car theft syndicate members in Oyo

The Oyo State Police Command says it has disrupted a transnational criminal network involved in the trafficking of stolen exotic vehicles across Nigeria’s borders for sale in foreign countries,

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

The operation followed information obtained from a suspect already in police custody over an armed robbery case, according to the statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, Olayinka Ayanlade.

The suspect, the police said, disclosed his knowledge of a criminal gang specialising in receiving stolen vehicles and conveying them across Nigeria’s borders.

According to the command, operatives subsequently allowed the suspect to use his mobile phone under controlled circumstances, during which members of the alleged syndicate sent him photographs of a vehicle they were preparing to steal.

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

The operation that led to the arrest started when the Oyo Command received a request from the Kwara State Police Command on 24 August to help intercept a 2017 Lexus RX 350 SUV allegedly stolen at gunpoint from a woman at her residence in Ilorin. The vehicle was reportedly stolen alongside other valuables belonging to the victim.

Following the alert, the Commissioner of Police in Oyo, Abimbola Ayodeji, directed the Commander of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) to deploy operatives along the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway to intercept the vehicle.

According to the Command, VCRU operatives reportedly sighted the Lexus and attempted to stop it at about 4 a.m. on Tuesday. The occupants, however, allegedly abandoned the vehicle and fled into the bush in different directions.

The police said operatives pursued the suspects, arresting two men identified as Adewale Abiola, 33, and Kabiru Abobarin, 36. During the operation one of the suspects reportedly sustained a gunshot wound to his left foot.

A search of the recovered SUV, the police said, led to the recovery of several items allegedly belonging to the victim, including four HP laptops, an iPhone 15 Pro Max, seven wristwatches and jewellery.

Police allege cross-border trafficking network

The command said preliminary interrogation showed that the two arrested suspects allegedly received the vehicle from members of the gang responsible for stealing it in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The suspects also allegedly told investigators that they were transporting the SUV towards the border, where an ECOWAS document was expected to be obtained to facilitate its movement across the border for sale in another country.

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The police did not identify the alleged foreign destination or disclose the number of vehicles the network may have previously trafficked.

The command said the investigation had been expanded to identify and arrest other members of the alleged syndicate and dismantle what it described as the wider transnational criminal network.