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The Rivers State Police Command has paraded a witch Doctor impounded juju shrine and twenty five other suspects said to be responsible for snatching of cars in Rivers state and transporting it to Anambra to sell off
Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu while parading the suspects in Police headquarters Moscow road on Wednesday 27,March,2024 said Chidube, Anthony and kelechi are major culprits in car snatching business.
CP Disu disclosed that Chidube trains his men on car snatching and he is linked to all suspects arrested while Kelechi is wonderful rewire mechanic and an expert in removing trackers all forms of security devices
The Rivers Police Chief stated that most of the cars stolen are taken to Kano, Anambra where they pieced and sold as scrap.
The Rivers Boss said 79 cars have been linked to the suspects .He also revealed that most of the suspects met in correctional Centre.
On their modus of operandi, CP Disu said the suspects uses master key to snatch vehicles and convert it to commercial vehicles and drive out of town with passengers to beat security check.
CP Disu said the command also arrested receivers of the vehicle who comes into town with the robbers and tell them the kind of cars to be stolen.
He said “their Witch Doctor has been arrested .He tells them when is safe to go for operation.
“We also have team of robbers who fellows you when you go to bank. When you resist them, they attack and fire you. Their fire arms has been recovered.
“Residents should put safety devices in their vehicle and be watchful”.
CP Disu added that 17 cars has been recovered so far and some returned to the owners.
exhibits recovered include English and local made pistols, juju shrine 17 assorted cars
details of the CP Briefing read Thus:-
1. ARREST OF CAR THEFT SYNDICATE AND RECOVERY OF 8 CARS:
The syndicate began operating in January 2023 and has been responsible for the theft of more than 40 cars. They all came to Port Harcourt from different states to perpetuate their criminal enterprise. Their operation sees them snatch cars or steal them from where they are parked. The cars are then classified into those to be sold and those to be sent to a scrap yard in Mgbuka-Obosi, Onitsha, to be ‘butchered’ for spare parts.
Their areas of operation include Akpajo, Eleme Junction, Trailer Park, Eleme, Owerri, Aba, Onitsha, etc.
We have so far recovered eight cars from the gang.
Those arrested are;
I. Chidozie Anthony Onyekwe, M, 34yrs.
II. Kelechi Uzo-Igwe, M, 30yrs
III. Isaac Udofia, aka Atiku, M, 43yrs
IV. Godwin Udota, aka Tommy, M, 41yrs
V. Ikechukwu Eyinaya, M, 42yrs.
VI. Chibueze Dominic aka Chimez, M, 33yrs
VII. Justice Saturday, M, 25yrs
VIII. Sunday Okah, aka Seke, M, 31yrs
Chidozie Anthony Onyekwe, M, 34.
He is from Obunike in Oyi LGA, Anambra. Came into Port Harcourt in 2015. Had previously been arrested as an accomplice to a certain Ade (now deceased) in 2023 for dealing in stolen vehicles. He is also involved in oil bunkering.
He is the leader of this syndicate that utilizes different illegal means to acquire cars. They snatch vehicles at gunpoint, move cars from where they were parked by owners and serve as middlemen to trade stolen vehicles.
He has so far directly robbed five cars and traded over 20 stolen vehicles.
Acting on intelligence, he was arrested on January 20, 2024, at Igwuruta while fixing his car tyres at a vulcaniser’s.
Recovered from him are a Toyota Matrix and a Toyota Camry.
Kelechi Uzo-Igwe, M, 30
He is from Isialangwa North, Imo State. Has been in Port Harcourt since 2008.
He is a mechanic and electrician by trade but specializes in identifying and disabling digital trackers in cars. He became a partner of Chidozie Anthony in March 2023 and has so far disabled trackers in over 20 stolen cars.
The cars are then parked in his workshop at Akpajo or kept in a compound in Agbonchia, Eleme. Together with Chidozie, they sell high-end cars to dealers in other states and transport the rest to a scrap yard in Mgbuka-Obosi, Onitsha, managed by Sunday Okah.
Kelechi is also responsible for recruiting new members of the group.
He was arrested in his workshop in Akpajo on February 12, 2024.
Isaac Udofia aka Atiku, M, 43
Isaac Udofia is a native of Etimokpo in Akwa-Ibom State and has been in Port Harcourt for over 20 years.
He was incarcerated between 2021 and 2022 and joined the car-snatching gang upon his return from prison. He was recruited by Kelechi and served as the car break-in expert.
His main job was to break into parked cars and drive them to Kelechi’s workshop or any location designated to him. He has driven seven such cars and was paid 50,000 for each successfully conveyed vehicle.
He is also directed to cars that other gang members have trailed, and he uses a master key to open and hardwire them. He was apprehended when he went to pick up a Toyota Corolla from Eleme Junction on 15th February 2024.
Godwin Udota, aka Tommy, M, 41
Godwin is from Eket in Akwa-Ibom State. Arrived in Port Harcourt in 2002 as a domestic help but later delved into a life of crime.
He stole his first car, a Nissan Sunny, in February 2023 at Trailer Park, Onne and sold it for 150,000 to a scrap dealer in Aba.
He partnered with other gang members to steal two L300 buses at Obibo and sold them to Kelechi for 300,000 each.
He has so far stolen and sold four cars.
He was arrested at Rumuola on 15th February 2024 in response to intelligence reports.
Ikechukwu Eyinaya, M, 42.
Ikechukwu is a native of Abriba and lives in Obehi, both in Abia state, but comes into Port Harcourt anytime the gang has an operation.
He is also an Ex-convict who was in prison between 2012 and 2015 for involuntary manslaughter.
He plays the role of trailing cars and stealing them when the owner parks them. He has stolen cars in Owerri, Aba and Port Harcourt.
He has stolen four cars; A Toyota Camry 2008 (Owerri), a Toyota Camry 2005 (Port Harcourt), a Toyota Camry 1999 pencil light (Aba), a Mitsubishi Bus (Port Harcourt)
He was apprehended at Eneka on the 13th of February, 2024
Chibueze Dominic, aka Chimez, M, 33.
Chibueze is a native of Iru East in the Imo state but relocated to Port Harcourt in 2018 and is a resident of Iloabuchi Street, Diobu, Port Harcourt.
He was recruited into the gang by Kelechi and is adept at snatching cars at gunpoint, together with another gang member, Lucky, still at large. He operates mainly in Eleme and has snatched two cars so far.
Even when Kelechi was in Police custody, Chimez continued to call him to inform him of car theft deals.
He was arrested at Rumuola on the 13th of February, 2024, while he was on his way to carry out a robbery at Eleme.
Justice Saturday, M, 25.
Justice is a native of Iru East in Imo State who relocated to Port Harcourt in 2020. He is a close ally to Chimez and was with him on his way to perpetuate a car robbery at Eleme when he was apprehended at Rumuola on the 13th of February.
Sunday Okah, M, 31
Sunday is from Ezza-North in Ebonyi state and owns a scrap yard in Mgbuka-Obosi in Onitsha, Anambra State.
He receives stolen cars from members of the gang, and within hours of the cars reaching his scrap yard, they are butchered, and the parts are sold off to waiting dealers.
He has so far bought five cars from Chidozie and nearly thirty cars from Kelechi. He buys each car for between 300,000 to 800,000 depending on the condition.
He has drivers that he sends to different cities to drive down stolen cars to his scrap yard. Cities include Owerri, Aba, Enugu, Abakiliki and Port Harcourt.
He was arrested at his scrap yard in Onitsha on the 29th of February, 2024.
2. ARREST OF SUSPECTS WHO RECEIVE AND SELL STOLEN VEHICLES. RECOVERY OF 4 CARS
Responding to a report of a stolen vehicle, a 2012 Toyota Hilux (diesel engine), on February 14th, 2024, at Elelenwo by a staff of Anajul Nigeria Limited, men of the Rivers State Police Command launched an investigation that uncovered a duo of middlemen who transport stolen vehicles to Northern Nigeria.
On February 20, 2024, the stolen car was spotted at a mechanic’s workshop. My men immediately arrested the driver of the car, who confessed that he had been given the car to take to Ntoro, Kano State, that morning, but the car developed a fault, and he needed to fix it before heading out. He was paid NGN 80,000 for the delivery of the car. The following Investigations led to the arrest of one more suspect. The Police are working to apprehend other accomplices complicit in the case.
Those arrested are Muhammed Hassan and Musa Usman
Musa Usman, M, 38
Musa is from Borno state and has a car stand in Elelenwo, where he operates his illegal trade in stolen cars. He confessed to having dealings with two other men, Alhaji Abdallah and Alhaji Ali, who are currently at large in Cameroon.
He received 300,000 from Alhaji Ali to send the stolen vehicle to a client in Ntoro, Kano State. He then contracted the delivery to Mohammed Hassan, his regular driver, to convey vehicles to different locations for him.
He was arrested on the 23rd of February, 2024, at his home after his driver was apprehended.
4 vehicles recovered from him;
• Toyota Hilux (Ash coloured)
• Toyota Hilux (White Coloured)
• Mercedes Benz (Blue coloured)
• Toyota Infinity (Grey coloured)
Mohamed Hassan, M, 42
Mohammed, also from Borno state, is an ally of Musa Usman and his driver, who was responsible for driving the stolen vehicles to numerous clients in Northern Nigeria. He was on his way to deliver the stolen Hilux when the Police arrested him at Elelenwo on the 20th of February, 2024.
3. ARREST OF FAKE POLICE INSPECTOR AND RECOVERY OF 3 CARS
The Rivers State Police Command commenced an investigation in response to a report filed on the 11th of August, 2023, by one Fibika Kingsley that his Lexus EX330 had been stolen at gunpoint along Agip road by five gunmen. The investigations led to the arrest on one Monday Igbali.
Monday Igbali, M, 43
Monday is a native of Okwuzi in the Ogba/Egbema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He is a former Police Sergeant who was dismissed after being indicted in a kidnapping case in 2021. Since his dismissal, he has continued to parade himself as a Police officer, even claiming to be an Inspector of Police, a rank he did not attain before his dismissal. He works with a gang of five, with four gang members still at large.
He has robbed a total of nine cars and sold them between 1.3 million Naira and 2.5 million Naira each.
He was arrested on the 8th of March 2024, at his home in Chokocho, Etche after the Police conducted due surveillance following investigations.
We have recovered three cars from him;
• Lexus 330
• Lexus IS250
• Toyota Highlander
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