Lagos Police Busts Vehicle Fra$d Syndicate, Recovers Exotic Cars | ClipTV Online

The Lagos State Police Command has uncovered a sophisticated criminal syndicate allegedly responsible for defrauding vehicle dealers. The suspect’s targets are exotic vehicles worth hundreds of millions of naira. The acts are carried out through the use of deception, dud cheques and fraudulent transactions.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday, Commissioner of Police, CP Tijani Fatai, psc, mnips, said to uncover this, detectives of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, successfully harmonized investigations into three separate complaints. This is after discovering that the complainants shared the same suspects, methods of operation and criminal objectives.

According to the Commissioner, the investigations revealed that the syndicate specialized in targeting reputable automobile dealers. They falsely claim the vehicles were being purchased for influential individuals, including politicians. The suspects allegedly secured the release of the vehicles using post-dated or dud cheques.

The investigation identified Fatai Balogun, popularly known as “Eleku,” as one of the principal suspects. He was arrested alongside other accomplices and reportedly confessed to participating in the fraudulent transactions. During interrogation, the suspects implicated several other members of the syndicate, including Otunba Olamilekan Ismail, Alhaji Ismaila, Segun and Bashiru Babatunde, some of whom are currently at large.

Police investigations linked the syndicate to the fraudulent acquisition of at least 29 vehicles from different dealers. The value of the transactions running into hundreds of millions of naira. Some of the vehicles were reportedly obtained under the false pretext that they were being supplied for political campaign activities. While others were acquired with assurances that payment would be made after the vehicles had been sold.

Through intelligence-led operations and the deployment of the AUTOREG vehicle tracking platform, detectives successfully recovered several vehicles. Those vehicles include a 2017 Toyota Highlander, 2010 Toyota RAV4, 2007 Toyota Highlander, 2020 Toyota Hiace Bus, 2018 Ford Edge SUV, and two 2016 Toyota Hiace buses. However, a number of vehicles remain outstanding, and efforts are ongoing to recover them and apprehend all fleeing suspects.

CP Tijani Fatai said the breakthrough underscores the Command’s commitment to dismantling organized criminal networks operating within Lagos State. He noted that harmonizing the investigations enabled detectives to expose the full scope of the criminal enterprise rather than treating each complaint as an isolated incident.

The Commissioner advised vehicle dealers and business owners to exercise greater caution when conducting high-value transactions. He further note that particularly where payments involve post-dated cheques or unfamiliar intermediaries. He also urged members of the public to continue providing credible information to assist law enforcement agencies in combating organized crime.