Policemen who were on night duty along Toyota Bus stop, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos State were shocked to discover 35 phones in the possession of a man.
The suspect, Kenechukwu Anierobi, 23, on that fateful night, had broken into a shop and carted away 35 phones.
Anierobi however never expected that he would run into the policemen. The policemen were said to have stopped Anierobi, with his two friends, when they noticed that the suspect was lugging a suspicious looking bag.
The suspicion was further fueled when for no apparent reason Anierobi’s two friends took off, abandoning him to the police.
When the police searched his bag, they found the 35 phones.
The two friends that fled were later tracked and arrested. They are Ozima Ike, 20; and Nnalua Ugo, 26.
The police said: “Anierobi was the first to be arrested on May 18, 2015, around 1: am at Mushin. He and his friends had just finished carrying out an operation. The policemen noticed Anierobi because he was walking suspiciously. When he was stopped to be searched, a black nylon bag containing 35 cellphones was recovered from him. The gang specializes in stealing phones, clothes and shoes after breaking into phone and bouquets shops. They operate with iron cutters.”
The police said that the gang leader, Ugo Obi is still at large.
Anierobi said: “I used to work as a truck pusher for customer at Alaba market. I get N1,000 for every load I carry. Some days I make up to N7,000. But I needed more money because I wanted to look good and dress well like my friends. I decided to follow my friend Obi to rob. I was arrested after our last operation. In that operation, I broke into a phone shop at Mushin and stole about 35 cellphones. We were almost at Toyota Bus Stop when the police patrol team intercepted me. My colleagues saw what was happening from a distance and took to their heels.”
Narrating his own story, Ugo said he came to Lagos State in 2012 to work as an apprentice in Dash board sales in Ladipo. After he finished his apprenticeship, he said that he needed money to start up his own business. There was no money however. He became desperate, and then he met Obi.
Ugo said: “I knew Obi when I was still an apprentice. He brought the idea of breaking into shops. He said we would steal and sell at a cheaper rate. He was it was a way of making quick money. I accepted.”
According to Ike, he said he came to Lagos in 2011after his secondary school education to learn trade with his elder brother, a spare part dealer. He confessed that Ugo initiated him into breaking and entering.
His words: “My role in the gang is to keep a look out for the gang during operation. The first operation was in March when we broke into a bouquet shop. The last was the attack on the phone shop at Mushin, where we were caught.”
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
