Police nab FCT car theft syndicates

The FCT Police Command has arrested syndicates specialising in car theft in Abuja.

The suspects were paraded by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the FCT, CP Tunji Disu.

According to Disu, while parading the suspects, the command, in continuation of its agenda to rid the FCT of all forms of crime and criminality, has recently intensified efforts to ensure the safety and security of residents’ lives and properties.

He added that, in a proactive move to curtail the activities of armed robbers and car snatchers within the FCT, operatives from the FCT Police Command, acting on credible intelligence, trailed and arrested three suspects: Aji Thomas, 32, from Gwoza in Borno State; Amobi Ndukwe, 40, from Enugu State; and Amaechi Sampson, 26, from Imo State.

The trio belongs to a notorious four-man gang specialising in armed robbery and car snatching.

According to the police chief, this particular gang operates within the FCT, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Kano States.

“The gang is led by one Chiderbere (surname unknown), who is currently at large. Their mode of operation includes trailing unsuspecting victims to a convenient location where they strike, dispossessing their victims of their vehicles and any other valuables they can find.

“They proceed to disengage any tracking gadgets they find installed in the vehicle, taking it to any of the above-mentioned states where they have ready buyers on standby.

“It is important to note that two of the suspects, Aji Thomas and Amobi Ndukwe, are ex-convicts who have served time in prison and were released but remained on the command’s watchlist and went back to rejoin their other gang members who escaped arrest the last time.

“The suspects were arrested while attempting to sell a stolen blue Toyota Corolla vehicle with Registration Number KTW 2155D to one of the command’s undercover operatives.

“During interrogation, they admitted to operating in Garki for the past year and a half, claiming responsibility for numerous car thefts within the metropolis,” he said.

Relatedly, Disu noted that on October 10, 2024, following a distress call by one Mr. Philemon Olaoluwa, who reported a case of car theft to Central Police Divisional Headquarters, he stated that his vehicle, a Honda Accord 2006 model, ash in colour with registration Number RBC 40 NW, developed a mechanical fault, prompting him to contract the services of one Abdulhamid Saidu, currently at large, who was recommended to him by his friends as a mechanic at Apo Mechanic Village, FCT.

“The suspect, however, came to pick up the vehicle at the victim’s residence for repairs. The victim, unaware of the motives of the mechanic, released his vehicle with its documents inside the car to the suspect, who absconded with the vehicle to an unknown destination.

“With the aid of digital tracking technology installed in the car, police operatives of the FCT Command tracked the vehicle to Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State, where it was found in the possession of one Joseph Abang, who confessed that he received the vehicle from his accomplice, Abdulhamid Saidu.

“It may interest you to know that Joseph Abang is a notorious car theft suspect who specialises in receiving, rebranding, and selling off vehicles stolen by his accomplices.

“Abang was arrested at his workshop, where two additional vehicles, a Hyundai Accent and a Peugeot 208, undergoing rebranding and suspected to be stolen, were also recovered from him.

“He confessed to having rebranded and sold over sixteen vehicles in the past four years. He is in custody and will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.”