By KELECHI OGUNLEYE

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it has arrested six suspected members of a car-snatching syndicate.

Apollos Dandaura, Commander of the NSCDC Commandant-General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CGsSIS), disclosed this on Friday in Abuja during a news conference.

Dandaura said the arrests followed reports of interstate car thefts by suspected criminals across the Federal Capital Territory, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Benue, Kogi, and Plateau States.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that after stealing vehicles, the syndicate sold them to spare parts dealers.

“The spare parts dealers then dismantle the stolen vehicles and sell the parts to erase traces from owners and buyers. Their transactions are laundered through either cash or POS transfers to avoid detection,” he said.

He added that five shops had been sealed and marked as exhibits at the Zuba Scrap Market, Abuja, for various illegal car dealing activities.

The squad head also said that the suspects have confessed to receiving vehicles from multiple suppliers, adding that one of the suspects admitted to have stolen over 160 vehicles from 2014 to date.

Exhibits recovered from the suspects include five vehicles, 61 different car licence plates, and eight vehicle registration documents.

In a related operation, the NSCDC spokesperson, Babatunde Afolabi, said the corps arrested two persons, aged 25, for allegedly stealing four 25-litre containers of hydraulic fluid from the BUA factory in Edo.

Two other suspects were arrested for criminal conspiracy, vandalism, and theft of installed cables from the Line 1 pre-heater machine at the same factory.

Afolabi said all suspects would be charged to court to serve as a deterrent to others.

He added that the NSCDC, under the leadership of the Commandant General, Ahmed Audi, reaffirmed its commitment to eradicating organised crime across the country.

The NSCDC boss urged the public to report suspicious vehicle transactions to the appropriate authorities and to always demand valid ownership documents before purchase. (NAN)