28th March, 2024
By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
A Native Doctor and 25 carjackers have been arrested and paraded by the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu at the Police Command’s headquarters, Port Harcourt.
While parading the suspects, Disu cautioned car owners, especially bank customers to install car security gadgets in their vehicles due the rampaging menace of carjackers who trail them to banks, rob and snatch their cars.
Disu stated that the Command has busted a notorious carjacking syndicate led by two of their gang leaders Chidozie Anthony Onyekwe and Kelechi Uzogwe.
He said over 79 stolen cars had traced to the gang who a perfect of using spare and master keys to steal car.
The high ranking members of the gang met at Correctional Centres where they served various jail terms as convicts from their various crimes.
The Police boss said once cars were snatched, they used such cars to carry passengers to evade arrest.
He said Kelechi has the mastery of demobilising and removing the trackers in the vehicles and other installed security devices.
According to Disu, the syndicate began operating in January 2023 and had been responsible for the theft of more than 40 cars.
“They all came to Port Harcourt from different states to perpetuate their criminal enterprise. Their operation sees them snatch cars or steal them from where they are parked. The cars are then classified into those to be sold and those to be sent to a scrap yard in Mgbuka-Obosi, Onitsha, to be ‘butchered’ for spare parts.
“Their areas of operation include: Akpajo, Eleme Junction, Trailer Park, Eleme, Owerri, Aba, Onitsha, etc,” he said.
Giving details of the escapades of Chidozie, Disu said he is from Obunike in Oyi LGA, Anambra but came to Port Harcourt in 2015 and had previously been arrested as an accomplice to a certain Ade (now deceased) in 2023 for dealing in stolen vehicles, while he is also involved in oil bunkering.
‘As the leader of this syndicate that utilizes different illegal means to acquire cars, they snatch vehicles at gunpoint, they move cars from where they were parked by their owners and serve as middlemen to trade stolen vehicles.
“Chidozie has so far directly robbed five cars and traded over 20 stolen vehicles. Acting on intelligence, he was arrested on January 20, 2024, at Igwuruta while fixing his car tyres at a vulcaniser’s shop. Recovered from him are a Toyota Matrix and a Toyota Camry,” Disu added.
On his part, Kelechi Uzo-Igwe, 30 who is from Isialangwa North, Imo State, has been in Port Harcourt since 2008.
“He is a mechanic and electrician by trade but specializes in identifying and disabling digital trackers in cars. He became a partner of Chidozie Anthony in March 2023 and has so far disabled trackers in over 20 stolen cars.
“The cars are then parked in his workshop at Akpajo or kept in a compound in Agbonchia, Eleme. Together with Chidozie, they sell high-end cars to dealers in other states and transport the rest to a scrap yard in Mgbuka-Obosi, Onitsha, managed by Sunday Okah. Kelechi is also responsible for recruiting new members of the group. He was arrested at his workshop in Akpajo on February 12, 2024,” the CP said.
Also arrested was Isaac Udofia aka Atiku, 43. Udofia is a native of Etimokpo in Akwa-Ibom State and has been in Port Harcourt for over 20 years.
According to Disu, he was incarcerated between 2021 and 2022 and joined the car-snatching gang upon his return from prison.
“He was recruited by Kelechi and served as the car break-in expert. His main job was to break into parked cars and drive them to Kelechi’s workshop or any location designated to him. He has driven seven such cars and was paid 50,000 for each successfully conveyed vehicle.
“He is also directed to cars that other gang members have trailed, and he uses a master key to open and hardwire them. He was apprehended when he went to pick up a Toyota Corolla from Eleme Junction on 15th February 2024,” the CP explained.
Another member of the gang is Godwin Udota, aka Tommy, 41, who hails from Eket in Akwa-Ibom State and arrived Port Harcourt in 2002 as a domestic help but later delved into a life of crime.
Udoka was said to have stolen his first car, a Nissan Sunny, in February 2023 at Trailer Park, Onne and sold it for 150,000 to a scrap dealer in Aba.
“He partnered with other gang members to steal two L300 buses at Obibo and sold them to Kelechi for N300,000 each. He has so far stolen and sold four cars. He was arrested at Rumuola on 15th February 2024 in response to intelligence reports,” Disu said.
Another member of the gang is Ikechukwu Eyinaya, 42. Ikechukwu is a native of Abriba and lives in Obehi, both in Abia state, but comes into Port Harcourt anytime the gang has an operation.
He is also an ex-convict who was in prison between 2012 and 2015 for involuntary manslaughter. He plays the role of trailing cars and stealing them when the owners park them.
“He has stolen cars in Owerri, Aba and Port Harcourt. He has stolen four cars; A Toyota Camry 2008 (Owerri), a Toyota Camry 2005 (Port Harcourt), a Toyota Camry 1999 pencil light (Aba), a Mitsubishi Bus (Port Harcourt).
He was apprehended at Eneka on the 13th of February, 2024,” he said.
Also, the CP paraded Monday Igbali, a former Police Sergeant who was dismissed from the Force over a case of kidnapping in 2021.
“Based on a case filed on the 11th of August, 2023, by one Fibika Kingsley that his Lexus EX330 had been stolen at gunpoint along Agip road by five gunmen, the investigations led to the arrest on one Monday Igbali. Monday Igbali, 43, is a native of Okwuzi in the Ogba/Egbema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
“Since his dismissal, he has continued to parade himself as a Police officer, even claiming to be an Inspector of Police, a rank he did not attain before his dismissal. He works with a gang of five, with four gang members still at large.
“He has robbed a total of nine cars and sold them between N1.3 million and N2.5 million each. He was arrested on the 8th of March 2024, at his home in Chokocho, Etche after the Police conducted due surveillance following investigations. Different types of stolen cars have been recovered from him,” the CP said.