Yes, I stole 35 phones in one shop in one day, says suspect

Policemen who were on night duty along Toyota Bus stop, Oshodi Apapa, Lagos State were shocked to discover 35 phones in the possession of a man.

The suspect, Kenechukwu Anierobi 23, on that fateful night, had broken into a shop and carted away 35 phones.
He however never expected that he would run into the policemen. The policemen were said to have stopped Anierobi, with his two friends when they noticed that the suspect was lugging a suspicious looking bag.
The policemen suspicion was further fueled after for no apparent
reason, Anierobi’s two friends took off, abandoning him to the police.
When the police searched his bag, they found the 35 phones.
The two friends that fled were later tracked and arrested. They are
Ozima Ike 20 and Nnalua Ugo 26.
The police said: “Anierobi was the first to be arrested on May 18,
2015, around 1: am at Mushin. He and his friends had just finished
carrying out an operation. The policemen noticed Anierobi because he
was walking suspiciously. When he was stopped to be searched, a black
nylon bag containing 35 cellphones was recovered from him. The gang
specializes in stealing phones, clothes and shoes after breaking into
phone and bouquets shops. They operate with iron cutters.”
The police said that the gang leader, Ugo Obi is still at large.
Anierobi said: “I used to work as a truck pusher for customer at Alaba
market. I get N1000 for every load I carry. Some days I make up to
N7000. But I needed more money because I wanted to look good and dress
well like my friends. I decided to follow my friend Obi to robbery. I
was arrested after our last operation. In that operation, I broke into
a phone shop at Mushin and stole about 35 cellphones. We were almost
at Toyota bus stop when the police patrol team intercepted me. My
colleagues saw what was happening from a distance and took to their
heels.”
Narrating his own story, Ugo said that he came to Lagos State in 2012
to work as an apprentice in Dash board sales in Ladipo. After he
finished his apprenticeship, he said that he needed money to start up
his own business. There was no money however. He became desperate, and
then he met Obi.
Ugo said: “I knew Obi when I was still an apprentice. He brought the
idea of breaking into shops. He said we would steal and sell at a
cheaper rate. He was it was a way of making quick money. I accepted.”
According to Ike, he said he came to Lagos in 2011after his secondary
school education to learn trade with his elder brother, a spare part
dealer. He confessed that Ugo initiated him into breaking and
entering.
His words: “My role in the gang is to keep a look out for the gang
during operation. The first operation was in March when we broke into
a bouquet shop. The last was the attack on the phone shop at Mushin,
where we were caught.”