32yrs old Ifeanyi Ekene
specializes in buying
stolen cars at cheap
prices and sell them for
high profit in Lagos and
other areas. He ran out of
luck recently as one of his
suppliers was arrested by
operatives of the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad in
Lagos State. They even
sold some of the stolen
vehicles to a member of
the House of Reps and a
university lecturers.
Below are Ekene's
confession on their mode
of operation...
“I am from Anambra
State, but I sell auto spare
parts in Alagbado area of
Lagos. I used to buy used
vehicles from Dubai but a
friend of mine, Ifeanyi,
who is based in Akure,
introduced me to some
people who sell cars at
cheaper prices.
“I asked if they were
armed robbers and they
said no, that they only
use master keys to open
cars and steal them. The
first car they gave me
was a Toyota Corolla
2008 model which they
sold to me for N400,000
but the market value is
about N2.5m.
“Later, they gave me three
Volkswagen Vento cars
for N350,000 each. The
market value is actually
N600,000. They sold me a
Toyota Camry 1998 model
for N300, 000. They also
gave me a Nissan
Pathfinder and a Toyota
Highlander for N700, 000
each. I made over 100 per
cent profit on each
vehicle.”
Asked how he usually
sold the car to members
of the public without
arousing suspicion, Ekene
said, “Nigeria is one of
the easiest places to sell
a stolen car. Japanese
vehicles like Toyota and
Nissan are in high
demand and they move
quickly. When the robbers
bring the vehicles, they
remove the number plate.
What I do later is to go to
Berger, give an agent
N10,000 to help me do
vehicle papers.
“A number plate costs
about N32,000 to do. If
the stolen vehicle is
engraved with the old
number, I take the vehicle
to a workshop in Ladipo
Market where a panel
beater will help me to
remove the old number.”
On his part, another
suspect, Chukwu, a car
dealer, said, “I usually go
to Benin Republic to buy
vehicles and I pay
security operatives
N35,000 to help me
smuggle the cars in
because no one stops
them on the road. It was
a friend, Uche that
introduced me to an
armed robber, Ozo, in
Lagos.
“Ozo sold a Toyota RAV4
and a Toyota Camry to
me for N200, 000 each at
that time; I did not know
he was a robber until one
day. While I was driving
with him in a car, he
came down from the
vehicle, brought out a gun
and snatched a Toyota J4
Cruiser from somebody.
That was when I knew
that he was a robber.
“At that point, I said I
wouldn’t patronise him
any more. After I had cut
ties with him, police
arrested him and he
implicated me.”
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