Detectives from the Ondo State Police Command have apprehended a suspected four man-gang inter-state car-snatching syndicate terrorising car owners in the state. 

The suspects, led by their ringleader, one Afolabi Emmanuel, were nabbed by the Tactical Intelligence Squad (TIS) unit of the command after they allegedly stole a 2016 model Toyota Camry from the residence of one Mr Amokun Victor in Oka-Akoko.

 Our correspondent reports that the gang, who had been on the wanted list of the police, sold the vehicle through an accomplice in Ogori-Magongo, Kogi State.

Parading the suspects on Thursday in Akure, the Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, said the stolen car with a market value of N12 million, was sold for a paltry N700,000.

“The suspect confessed to scaling the fence of the victim’s compound, breaking into the apartment, carting away valuables and eventually driving off with the vehicle,” Mr Afolabi said. 

He explained that further investigation by the police led to the recovery of two more vehicles, including a Toyota Sienna worth N6 million, which had been sold for N4 million. 

According to the police chief, the gang was responsible for a string of vehicle thefts across the 18 local government areas of the state.

He said the ringleader, Afolabi, is based in Lagos but frequently in Akungba Akoko, where his father resides, alleging that it was during his visit he identified potential targets before launching the theft operations. 

“These suspects have been a menace, instilling fear in residents and dispossessing them of their hard-earned belongings. 

‘’Their arrest is a significant blow to the network of criminals operating across state lines,” the police commissioner stated.

While urging vehicle owners to take precautions by installing anti-theft devices such as pedal locks and trackers, Mr Afolabi said the police had intensified efforts to track other fleeing members of the syndicate as investigations continue.