A suspected member of a five-man trans-border car snatching gang, who allegedly went into hiding after the gang killed a security man at Iyana Ipaja area in Lagos, has been arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Lagos.
Narrating the circumstances surrounding his arrest, Bayo Owolabi said: “I did not know that the man who arrested me was a police officer. We met more than three times and he was very kind, especially at the restaurant in the area where I have been hiding for quite some time, where he bought me snacks and drinks.
“The only time I suspected him was when he was asking me about one robbery operation or the other as if he was a member of an unknown robbery gang in Ogun or Lagos states.
“But he was too clever to give himself away as he always diverted attention that erased my suspicions.
“He does not drink much, but he can buy a carton of beer or a bottle of choice whisky if you care, just to keep you talking wide and clear.
“His discussions were centred on felonious crimes or abuse of hard drugs and police raid, which made me to reveal myself to him.
“I told him that I was in hiding and even suggested that we should form a new gang, which he accepted with excitement. I did not know that he was an IRT under-cover operative on duty to capture me like a fowl.
“Unexpectedly, he told me that he was sorry, that I was under arrest. He flashed his identity card to show me that he is a police officer. But he promised to treat as a friend if I would help him to recover my gang’s guns.
Asked why he was arrested, the 27-year-old suspect said: “I was arrested because I was among the five-man gang that shot dead a security man at Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos.
“On that fateful day, we were five in number, namely myself, Elijah, Wadeko, Taye a.k.a. Enufe and Tolu a.k.a. Toro.
“We killed the security man during a night operation last year. We had good information that the victim had expensive laptops and phones, but when we got there, the security man challenged us and Tolu shot him dead.” (Nation)