The Police in Ondo State, on Friday, arrested a 42-year-old suspected car thief, Ayodele Temitope, and recovered three stolen vehicles.
Mr Wilfred Afolabi, The Commissioner of Police in the state, made this known in Akure while addressing newsmen on the significant achievements of the command over the past few months in the state.
Afolabi said the achievements recorded ranged from the recovery of stolen vehicles to dismantling armed robbery and burglary syndicates.
He also said that other achievements were busting of trans-national fraud operations; arrests of cultists and kidnappers, and rescue of victims.
Afolabi said that Temitope, the car theft suspect, was arrested following a complaint received on March 16 from one Tajudeen Kasali of High School, Akure, whose Dyna vehicle was stolen.
According to him, the complainant woke up at about 0300hrs of the same date and discovered that his Dyna vehicle, with registration number MKA 627 XC valued at N5 million, was missing.
“The Police, on receipt of the complaint, started investigation, and on a tip-off by a concerned citizen, one Ayodele Temitope, male, 42 years, was arrested.
“During investigation, the suspect admitted his involvement in the criminal act and confirmed that the stolen vehicle was sold to someone in Ibadan, Oyo State, at the rate of N1.8 million.
“Consequently, operatives of the command’s Tactical Intelligence Response squad (TIRS) swung into action and recovered the stolen Dyna from the man, who in ignorance, bought the stolen vehicle.
“The team further recovered another stolen Nissan Primera vehicle, with registration number LND 248 BF, from the suspect in Ibadan. Another stolen Toyota Camry, with registration number KTU 235 GA, was also recovered from the suspect’s house at Saki, Oyo State,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Afolabi appreciated the vital role played by the public for their timely information and unwavering support to enhance the effectiveness of the command’s crime-fighting efforts.
“Let me assure you that the command is deeply committed to enhancing public trust, professionalism, and community engagement through continuous training and retraining of personnel. We shall continue to adopt innovative policing strategies to address emerging security challenges head-on,” he said.