Suspects who robbed food vendor of N350,000 nabbed

Operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Lagos State Police Command, have arrested two suspected members of a robbery gang who withdrew N350,000 from an account through a phone stolen from a food vendor in Mushin area of Lagos.
 
The gang specialised in dispossessing victims of their phones for the purpose of getting their account details and making withdrawals without the account holder’s knowledge. To get victims phones, the syndicate liaises with ‘pick-pocket’ crooks that steal phones and bring the SIM cards to them, at the end of which, they are paid.
 
One of the ‘pick-pockets’, Tajudeen Alamu, who posed as a customer, allegedly stole a Techno K7 phone, worth N40,000 from a food vendor at Ladipo Street on Monday. After retrieving another SIM, owner of the phone, Essien Gloria, received debit alert of N350,000, consequent upon which the matter was reported at the command.
 
Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Imohimi Edgal, immediately directed operatives of the FSARS, led by the new commander, Mr. Peter Gana, a Chief Superintendent of Police, to go on the trail of the suspect.
   
Speaking to The Guardian, Alamu, a cobbler, admitted to have stolen the phone but said he never got a dime from the money withdrawn from the account. He said: “Yes, I took the phone from the buka and gave the SIM card to where the ‘boys’ were. I gave it to Ganiyu Noah but he did not collect anything from me. When I went to visit my wife, she said she liked the phone and collected it from me. Ganiyu said he would take it to Mahigo, who would check if there were money there.
 
“He was with two other SIM cards. He left me in his house for Machingo’s place. He said they usually meet in a hotel at Ogunukun Street, Mushin. But he told Machingo there was nothing in the SIM, not knowing that they purchased recharge cards worth over N190,000 from the bank’s mobile app. The have all fled, leaving me to bear the consequence alone”.The suspect, according to Lagos police spokesman, Chike Oti, would soon be charged to court.