Police arrest 7 suspects who snatch phones, transfer money from victim’s bank account
Joy Anyim
Seven robbery suspects, who snatch phones and then use the SIM cards to make transfers from their victims’ bank accounts, have been arrested by men of the Lagos State Police Command.
The suspects, believed to have been terrorising residents of College Road, Fagba, and Abbattoir areas of Lagos State, met their waterloo at about 9:00pm, on February 14, 2019.
The suspects whose names were given as Lekan Akinyemi, 23, Chimeze Ofulie,18, Babangida Abdullahi, 22, Abubakar Umaru, 30, Samuel Oyinloye, 24, Timileyin Oladipupo, 27 and Habeeb Olayinka. The suspected reportedly also had their hideout in Agege area of the state.
It was gathered that on the said day of their arrest, the suspects who were brandishing knives and other harmful objects, had robbed five passers-by of money, phones and other valuables at College Road, Ifako – Ijaiye area of Lagos.
They were however arrested after men of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command stormed the area following a tip-off.
One of the victims who gave his name as Agafe Augustine said he was attacked by the gang after he alighted from a taxi at College Road, Ifako, Ijaiye.
Amongst the items collected from him by the gang were an android phone, N14,000 and a handbag.
According to Agafe, “I allowed them to rob me because they were many and were holding dangerous objects but I trailed them to an open place before raising alarm.
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“This drew the attention of some RRS officers on patrol in the area and they arrested some of them.
“They equally robbed some other victims amongst whom were a lady in company of her boyfriend.
“They dispossessed them of their phones and stabbed her boyfriend who refused to let go of his mobile phone after parting with his wallet”.
Investigation by the police revealed that one of the suspects, Timileyin Oladipupo popularly known as ‘Timi Yahoo’, specialised in working on SIM cards of the stolen phones to determine which ones are internet banking enabled to facilitate the gang access to transferring money from victims’ accounts.
In his confessional statement, Oladipupo said, “I have worked on so many SIM cards given to me by Lekan and other groups in Agege Abbatior and what I do is to further increase our gain from the robbery by transferring victims’ money from their bank accounts after using some softwares to determine how much are lodged inside their accounts and we also share the proceeds.”
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mu’azu Zubairu, who ordered the arrest of all the gang members has ordered that they be transferred to the Special Anti-Robber Squad for thorough investigation.
He also stated that the gang be charged to court as soon as investigations are completed.
