'I didn't know customs officer who sold 20 cars to me was a robber'

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A car dealer has claimed that he bought 20 cars from a Customs officer, unaware that the man was actually an armed robber. 

The car dealer, Alhaji Kabiru Akorede, 42, who had once been arrested in 2013 and arraigned for being in possession of 20 stolen cars, was re-arrested for buying a stolen Toyota Prado car this year. The car was stolen on October 2.
The police, however, said that Akorede was being economical with the truth. According to the police, the suspect had been hobnobbing with the robbery suspects for long. A police source said: “The Toyota Prado car was snatched on October 2. Other valuables were also in the car when it was snatched.
The suspect, Akorede, is a receiver of stolen cars. When we arrested a robbery suspect, called Kachito, his confession led us to arrest Moses Ogu. Ogu told us that the vehicle was supplied to Akorede.” The vehicle was tracked and located on October 9, by a team of policemen from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos, led by SP Abba Kyarri.
The police team reached the car just as the suspect was allegedly attempting to change its colour at the Ishashi area of the metropolis. Akorede, who is married to two wives and has four kids, resides at Isashi, NEPA quarters. The dealer said that he was an OND holder from Yaba College of Technology.
He said: “I started receiving cars from the robbery suspects, Dada and another guy last year. As of last year, Dada supplied me 20 cars. I didn’t know the vehicles were stolen. He told me that he was a Customs officer. “I have a car stand, which belonged to a friend of mine.
Last year, I bought three Highlander cars for N1 million each and sold each for N1.7 million. I bought four Toyota Camry cars at the rate of N400,000 each and sold each for N600,000. Market price, however, was N800,000. I advised the gang to get me Toyota and Honda cars because people prefer such cars.” Akorede added that he and the gang members used to meet at a hotel at Mowe/Ibafo in Ogun State.
He said: “I was arrested by SARS last year. About 20 vehicles were recovered from me. I was charged to Ikeja Magistrates’ Court but was granted bail. “After my bail, I got a call from Moses last month, saying he wanted to sell a car to me. I brought the car at the rate of N250,000 at Ejigbo. After collecting it, I registered the car in my own name with a fake address.
“I also gave the car to the person who changed the body, light and other necessary things. I did that because I wanted to polish the car, so that I could sell it at a higher price. I also needed money and knew it was a stolen car.”