Man Arrested Over Theft Of N5m Goods

The Lagos State Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, has arrested a 45-year-old man, at Coker Market, Orile Iganmu, Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.

The man, who claimed to be from Kwara State, and his colleagues diverted a truck conveying a container loaded with marble tiles worth N5 million.

P.M.NEWS gathered that  immediately the owner noticed that his goods had been diverted, he contacted the SARS boss who immediately sent his men to trace the goods.

The suspect, according to the police, was arrested when he was going about with the sample of the tiles in search of a buyer.

The suspect told P.M.NEWS: “I’m not the person that stole the goods. It was my friend that stole it. He just gave me some samples to show to any of my friends that might have interest in buying.

“I took it inside the market at Odunade area of Coker in Mile 2, to meet some of my customers in case we see any person that would buy the goods. So when I took my friend to them, they negotiated the price and he said the next day he would call me but didn’t.

“He called me three days after to ask if those people were no longer interested and I immediately went to the market to trail some of the buyers that were interested in buying the marble tiles.

“Suddenly, he arrived with two men. The next thing I saw was that I was held by the trouser and that was how I landed here in SARS.”

When P.M.NEWS contacted the owner of the goods, he said:  “My goods were diverted recently and they came to the market to sell them though they didn’t know I was the owner of the goods. The moment I noticed they were my goods, I reported the matter to the Orile Police Station  and the SARS.”

— Ayodeji Dedeigbo