A three-man car-snatching gang has been smashed by the Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Amuche Chukwuemeka, 23; Blessing Idotie, 26, and Enwelikwu Santos Peter, 25, were caught after a February 4 operation at De Heaven Club on 1st Avenue, Festac, Lagos about 9.28pm.
They were said to have snatched Anthony Okeke’s Toyota Highlander Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) marked AKD 91 AN.
“As he went to urinate, the three suspects sighted him and waited for him to come back to his vehicle. As he made to enter the vehicle, one of the suspects, Chukwuemeka, blocked him, pointed a gun at him and ordered him to cooperate if he did not want to be shot dead. The two others entered with the man. The man sat between Idotie and Peter while Chukwuemeka took over the steering and headed to Second Rainbow, Festac Town. They gave the man N1000 for transport after collecting all his money and pushed him out. They also collected two ATM cards with their pin numbers,” said a police source.
On their way to Onitsha, in Anambra State, the vehicle developed a fault on the Sagamu/Benin Express road. To get money to repair the vehicle, they were said to have used their victim’s ATM card to withdraw N20,000 in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
Luck ran out for the suspects when some soldiers flagged them down for routine checks and found a pistol on them.
A relation of Okeke, who was aware that the vehicle was snatched, sighted it with the soldiers on his way to Onitsha and informed him.
When the suspects could not explain how they came about the SUV, they were taken to Ijebu Ode Police Station from where they were transferred to Eleweran Police Headquarters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Chukwuemeka, who hails from Umuguma in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, said he is a student of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, Imo State capital, studying Electrical/Electronic Engineering.
He said: “My mother is in Lagos, while father stays in Abuja. It is 15 years now my parents divorced and we are two boys and one girl. I live in Festac with my mother at 1st Avenue H Close and she is a teacher. I am the gang leader.”
He added: “Three of us sat down at Premier Hotel, Maza Maza and decided to snatch a car. I provided the gun that I bought from a cultist named Cigairo. I told him that if he gave me a gun, I would join his cult Buccaneers. I paid him N15,000 to rent the gun. We went to Heaven Club, sat down opposite the hotel and observed the man. We did not know the man before. He parked and went to urinate. When he came back, I pointed the gun at him. Peter pushed him inside the car. We collected N5000 plus two ATM cards and phones and later gave him N1000 to find his way while we proceeded to the East with the jeep. We were arrested by soldiers when our vehicle developed fault along Ijebu-Ode road. We were transferred to Ijebu Ode.
“Later, we were moved to Eleweran and Festac Division. I fainted because they promised us that we would not be taken to Lagos SARS. I became a robber as a result of efforts to get money and continue my education as my father abandoned us.”
Idotie, who hails from Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, said: “It was Chukwuemeka who handed his gun to me when he took over the steering. I knew Peter as a footballer. I put the victim between myself and Peter.
The third suspect, Peter, said, “I am from Kwale in Ndokwa South of Delta State. I play football. My father is late and we are four girls and a boy. I am the only son. We live in a one-room apartment and flood used to disturb us and we could not look for another room because of financial incapacitation. Even, we did not have enough money to feed. My sisters that are married are not finding life easy and they are suffering also. I am the fourth in my family.
