A 71-year-old man, Peter Othormor, has been arrested alongside 10 other suspects for allegedly diverting a truck-load of goods worth N40m, which the police accused them of selling off at N5m.
The suspects, who were arrested by operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, in Lagos, were said to have been entrusted with the goods meant to be delivered to a customer in Abuja.
A source familiar with the investigation, said some of the suspects were arrested at the point of off-loading the goods in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The man, whom they were alleged to have sold the goods to in Ibadan was identified as Abass Buhari, a Kaduna State indigene.
The police said Othormor was contracted by a clearing agent to get a truck which could convey the goods from Kirikiri Phase 2, Apapa, Lagos to his customer who lived in Abuja.
Othormor also reportedly contracted a suspect who is now on the run, to provide a truck with which to convey the goods.
“The driver loaded the goods in the truck and they left for Abuja. When they were on the way, rather than face Abuja, Othormor allegedly told the driver to drive straight to Ibadan, Oyo State and off-load the goods in the compound of Abass Buhari whom he had made an arrangement for the purchase with,” the police source said.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the police were alerted when a resident of the neighbourhood where the goods were being located tipped off the police.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of FSARS, Ibrahim Kaoje, was said to have stormed the premises with his men and effected the arrest of the suspects, some of whom fled in the process.
Our correspondent was told that the police arrested eleven out of them were arrested in the process, while the driver of the truck escaped. Those arrested apart from Othormor are Lawal Yusuf (61), Adewale John (43), Ebuka Agubosin (29), Abdulraman Abdulmalik (37), Waheed Adewale (48).
The conductors of the vehicle – Kehinde Okiki, Semiu Sanni and Raheem Lawal – were also arrested while the goods were recovered.
Kaoje said the suspects would be charged to court after the investigation was concluded.
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