Police arrest 8 over alleged theft of transformers, 12 tyres in Edo

Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have arrested eight suspects over the alleged theft of transformers, 12 tyres and a truck in Edo State.

DAILY POST reports that the State Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, who paraded the suspects in Benin City on Wednesday, said they were arrested for armed robbery and malicious damage

Adegboye identified the suspects as Lazarus Ifeanyi, Nnamdi Osita, Celestial Eze, Lucky Nwosu, Obidiwe Ekene, Uche Onu, Okorie, Ekene Onyedika and Frances Okafor.

He said the arrest of the suspects was a sequel to a petition by one Collins Oboh Osamuyimen to the police that unknown armed men invaded Colosa Concrete Pole Company located in Evbuomoma Community, Benin City, tied the security guards and stole two electrical transformers, one long Scania truck and 12 tyres to an unknown destination.

He said the investigation led to the arrest of Lazarus Ifeanyi at Onitsha in Anambra State, who confessed that he bought the stolen truck from one Okorie Ekene Onyedika, who specialised in butchering stolen trucks and other vehicles for sale.

The commissioner added that the suspect also confessed that he bought the newly branded Scania trucks with a 12-tyre capacity from one Frances Okafor and mentioned four other members of his gang who were also arrested in the Onitsha axis of Anambra State.

According to him, the suspects also confessed to being a notorious armed robbery gang that robbed empty gas cylinders in Akure, Ondo State, but offloaded the items at Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, by their gang leader Frances Okafor’s brother, who owns a shop at the place in Lagos.

“The suspects were preparing for another robbery in Imo State before their arrest,” he stated.

Adegboye, who said all the stolen items were in police custody, added that the suspect would be charged in court.