Lagos Police pose as buyer, recover N37m jeep in Nasarawa

Detectives attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command have arrested one Andrew Agofure suspected to have burgled a house at Lekki-Ajah area of the metropolis and carted away a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon Jeep valued at N37million.

According to the investigators, all efforts made to find the jeep within Lagos State was futile. But Agofure had denied the allegation.

Police said it was also hunting for one Patrick, who is at large. The police believed that the fleeing Patrick masterminded the stealing of the jeep.

A source said: “We didn’t, however, give up. We kept digging and finally tracked the car to Nasarawa State. We were shocked that the jeep had been moved from Lagos to Nasarawa State. When we discovered that it had been placed online for sale, we swung into action. Although it was moved to Nasarawa State, but it was displayed at a car mart in Abuja.”

The team of detectives that cracked the case was led by a Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP), Mr Akinola Aduroja. The suspect, Agofure, was arrested on August 30, 2017.

The police alleged that Patrick drove the jeep from Lekki-Ajah in Lagos State to Nasarawa and placed at a car mart in Abuja for sale. The police disclosed that the jeep, which was N37m, was placed on the internet online for N15m.

Aduroja said: “We posed as buyers that wanted to buy the jeep for N15m online. We arrested the suspect when he came to sell the jeep to us. The jeep, whose location was Abuja, was recovered in a forest in Nasarawa State around midnight.”

Aduroja said that  on August 22, 2017, around 7:30pm, one Muiz Adebayo Ajayi, of No. 10A, Lucky  Garden,  Road 17, County Homes,  Lekki Ajah, Lagos reported a conspiracy , burglary and  stealing to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Edgal Imohimi, through a petition.

The petitioner alleged that he traveled to Kenya and upon his return on August 20, 2017; he discovered that the main gate to enter the compound had been broken by unknown persons.

Ajayi further stated that one jeep, with registration number BGD 2 EV and some electronic valued at N1.2m were stolen from the house of his elder brother, Adekunle Odunlami, who was in Malaysia.

In a bid to track down those that burgled the Lekki-Ajah home of the complainant, Aduroja and his men posed as buyers. They had already sighted the jeep online for N15m.

On September 6, 2017, Agofure appeared to pick the cheque for the Jeep and was grabbed. Since the arrest of Agofure, police had been hunting for Patrick, all to no avail.

Agofure: “I’m innocent of this crime and allegations. The only I know is that Tony is teaching me how to hack into different sites. On the day I was arrested, Tony sent me to meet somebody at Ajah and to hand a mobile phone to the man. When I met the man, I gave him the phone as instructed. As I was waiting for feedback, police came and arrested me.  All my effort to get Tony was fruitless as I don't know where he lives. I don't know where he lives because I met him at a cybercafé. We always do our learning at the cybercafé. Honestly, until now, I don't know why I was arrested and I’m still in the dark.”