A dismissed police officer, a self-styled pastor, and three ex-convicts are among 12 suspects arrested by the Rivers State Police Command for allegedly running a cross-border car-snatching syndicate.
The police said 22 stolen vehicles were recovered in a sweeping intelligence-led operation across several states, including Rivers, Kano, Akwa Ibom, and Delta.
Spokesperson of the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the operation began after a report was filed by one Enoch Daniel, whose Toyota Hiace was snatched at gunpoint in Onne, Eleme Local Government Area.
“In a major intelligence-led operation, the Rivers State Police Command successfully dismantled a sophisticated car theft syndicate operating across multiple states in Nigeria,” Iringe-Koko said in a statement issued Thursday in Port Harcourt.
“The operation led to the arrest of twelve male suspects and the recovery of twenty-two stolen vehicles.”
Among those arrested were John Amadi and Nna Goodluck, both ex-convicts, who confessed they were hired to steal Daniel’s vehicle using hammers and were paid N90,000 each.
The investigation led police to multiple locations, including Oyigbo, where 35-year-old Yakubu Abdullah was picked up. Abdulkareem Saminu, also 35, was caught with two stolen vehicles, while a dismissed officer, Adamu Musa, was arrested in Akwa Ibom with 11 cars in his possession.
The command said the operation revealed a vast network coordinated by one Falco Ibrahim, who is currently on the run. According to Iringe-Koko, the group operated across Rivers, Anambra, Taraba, Enugu, Borno, Kano, Delta, and Akwa Ibom, moving vehicles into Cameroon where they were sold whole or as parts.
She said the group’s smuggling chain involved an agent named Shehu Shagari, who is now in custody.
Others arrested include Onyekachi Igwe, 53, an ex-convict based in Port Harcourt who confessed to earning over N5 million in just eight months; Ikechukwu Joseph, 35, and Michael Emerenwa, 40, both auto-electricians who helped alter vehicle systems for export.
Police also arrested 45-year-old Elijah Nwauwa Sunday, who posed as a pastor from Imo State but worked as a broker for the group at the Mgbuka-Obosi scrap car market in Onitsha.
Other suspects are Samuel Ejigbo, 39, from Kogi State, said to be a field operator in Port Harcourt, and 25-year-old Umar Jabbo from Taraba State, who was arrested while trying to buy a stolen Toyota Camry.
Iringe-Koko said the command would not relent in flushing out criminal networks in the state.
“All suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations, while efforts continue to arrest the ringleader and other fleeing accomplices,” she added.
