‘Do Everything To Protect Your Cars, Businesses’ — FCT CP Urges Residents After Recovering Nine Vehicles, 36 Bundles Of Fake Dollars

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Commissioner, CP Benneth Igwe has enjoined residents of the city to devise all means to protect their vehicles given the daring nature of criminals.

The Police commissioner gave this charge on Thursday while parading three suspects of car theft at the command’s headquarters in Abuja.

At the parade, the CP revealed that five Hilux and four cars were recovered from the syndicate, three of which were arrested.

The vehicles, particularly the Hiluxes, the CP said were suspected to have been carted away from their parking lot or snatched at gunpoint by the syndicate using master keys.

The suspects: David Godwin (gang leader), Paul Taju and Ali Shitu specialises in inter-state car theft and snatching, and have been identified to be responsible for the theft of Hilux vehicles in the FCT and environs.

Speaking to Journalists, CP Igwe said, “The master keys can open any of your vehicles, despite the presence of a censor.

“This is why I said that any car that is eight years old/ five years old from the manufacture date, the censor doesn’t work again except when you recalibrate the censor.

“So, you have to find alternatives to how to protect your cars. Find any protection you can do to protect your vehicle. These criminals do not have mercy for you.”

The recovered vehicles include a Red Toyota 4 car (without Reg. No), and a Brown Toyota Corolla car with Reg No. GWA 630 AG, Toyota Camry with Reg No. ABJ 307 LK, Lexus SUV jeep with Red No. KRD 949 FM and five white Hilux vehicles (all without Reg No.)

36 Bundles of Fake Dollars

The police boss also paraded two suspects of a fraud syndicate found in possession of 36 bundles of fake $100 notes.

The suspects: Abdullahi Yahaya and Gold Ebere, all male were arrested on the heels of intelligence that they were part of a syndicate specialised in the interstate sale of fake dollar notes.

The foreign notes “supposedly to be in $10,000 wrap, but in $100 denomination, are all fake.”

The suspects, the CP said, “confessed to being a member of an eight-man gang… and have sold several fake notes to unsuspecting residents of FCT before they ran out of luck and were apprehended.”

Responding to THE WHISTLER’s query on how the suspects were arrested, CP Igwe said, “I had intelligence, between when they used to see them.

“When they give it to them, they print it and start to sell it. We had an intelligence that people who have fake dollars are around.

“I do not need to tell you the modules we use, but we arrested them with the dollars, and we are still arresting more.”

Admonishing residents of the FCT, the CP said, “Before you accept dollars from anybody, especially those in business, please look into the dollars very well, because these ones (referring to the fake notes), you hardly distinguish it from the ordinary dollar.”

The police boss noted that the FCT operatives are making efforts to arrest the remaining members of the syndicate.

CP Igwe further reiterated his mantra, noting that “it was no longer business as usual” for criminals in the FCT.

“I want to warn you that it is not business as usual for crime and criminality As we are steaming off kidnappings, we are looking into other auxiliary crimes like armed robbery.

“We will not relent until the FCT is clear and we are not looking back. We do not have any apology to any criminal that is in the FCT.

“If you have the audacity to rob, we will have the audacity to deal with you. It is better you take your time, because before we started, we read a four-point agenda and we are still acting on it, and I said we are going to act on it to the end.”