By MONDAY IJEH

The Police on Tuesday said they had arrested a female armourer and recovered 21 stolen cars from an armed robbery gang operating at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) car park.

The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Frank Mba, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mba said the female armourer was arrested alongside her gang of kidnappers and armed robbers, notorious for attacking innocent Nigerians around Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna and Niger states.

He said the armourer was responsible for ensuring the safety of the weapons used by the gang whenever not in use.

Mba said she had confessed to being the gang’s armourer for over a year and claimed to have received a handsome reward each time the weapons were returned after each operation.

“She acknowledged knowing that the arms which she usually kept in a neatly dug hole in her compound were used for robberies, kidnapping and other criminal purposes.

“Investigation has shown that the suspect, who is a trader and single mother of two, was recruited by her boyfriend,” he said.

He said the exhibits recovered from the gang were five AK47 rifles, one G3 rifle, one Berretta pistol, 1476 rounds of ammunition and 36 rounds of G3 ammunition.

Others are six AK47 magazines, one operational vehicle, eight mobile phones and a box containing operational tools.

Mba also said the Police Special Tactical Squad (STS) had smashed a two-man car stealing gang led by a graduate from one of the Federal Polytechnics in the country.

He said the gang that operates at JUTH car park were arrested after painstaking efforts and investigations by operatives of the STS to hunt down the criminals.

The FPRO said the suspects specialises in using customised master key, crafted out of screwdriver to open and start vehicles.

According to him, police investigations have shown that their choices of cars are ones without special security features such as pedal or steering locks.

He said 21 vehicles had so far been recovered from the hoodlums, adding that 13 receivers of the stolen vehicles had also been arrested in various locations.

Mba said the vehicles recovered are two Opel Vectra, one Toyota Camry, one Honda CRV, two Toyota Carina, seven Golf-3, one Toyota Corolla, six Honda Civic and one Toyota Avensis.

He said the suspects had claimed that they found it easy to steal in JUTH due to the lax security at the premises.

According to him, police investigations have revealed that their choice cars are Toyota and Honda products as well as Volkswagen especially the Golf brand.

“This is because these brands of cars are in high demand by criminal receivers, either in whole or in parts across the country and other neighbouring countries.

“Members of the public whose cars were stolen between January 2019 and March 2020, within the premises of JUTH are advised to come forward for possible identification and recovery,” he said.

Mba enjoined Nigerians to take extra measures to secure their cars by utilising special security features such as steering or pedal locks and tracking systems.

According to him, institutions and organisations are encouraged to enhance security and access control within their premises to minimise the possibility of theft and other mischief by criminals.

He said the suspects would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations. (NAN)

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