The Delta State Police Command has apprehended three suspected members of a car snatching syndicate in Edo and Delta states.
The command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this to newsmen on Wednesday in Warri, adding that the police recovered 12 stolen vehicles recovered from them.
Edafe said that one of the suspects was nabbed on April 11 in Okpe Local Government Area of the state, while others were arrested on Friday in Benin, following a confession by the former.
He pointed out that one of the suspects allegedly stole a Toyota Corolla car from where it was parked at DSC township in Oruwhorun, Udu Local Government Area, using a master key.
According to him, the car was later sighted on the Eku/Warri road by Oha junction in Okpe Local Government Area.
“On April 11, following information from one man (name withheld) that his Toyota car was stolen from where it was parked in Oruwhorun and was sighted on Eku/Warri road by Oha junction in Okpe, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Orerokpe division, CSP Paul Oboware, swiftly mobilised patrol teams alongside members of Oha community vigilantes.
“They chased the suspects to the army checkpoint at Orerokpe junction and double-crossed the vehicle.
“Consequently, one of the suspects, aged 47, was arrested; the vehicle was recovered with the master key they used,” he said.
Edafe said that preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect and his gang were notorious in stealing cars from where they were parked.
He said that upon further investigation and interrogation, the suspect led the police to the arrest of two other suspects, aged 40 and 39, on Friday in Benin City.
The spokesman said that the two suspects specialised in deleting old chassis and engine numbers and replacing them with new ones before putting the vehicles for sale.
He said that the suspects specialised in deactivating vehicles with car trackers, adding that a total of 12 suspected stolen vehicles were recovered from Benin City and Warri in the course of the exercise.