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The Lagos State Police Command has busted a fraud syndicate allegedly responsible for swindling automobile dealers of vehicles worth over N1 billion.
Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, disclosed this yesterday at the command headquarters, Ikeja while briefing journalists on recent achievements of the command.
He said one member of the syndicate, Fatai Balogun, had been arrested, while detectives had intensified efforts to apprehend the alleged ringleader, Otunba Ismaila Olamilekan, popularly known as Otunba Jaji, who remains at large.
The CP advised automobile dealers to exercise due diligence before releasing vehicles to prospective buyers, warning that fraudsters were increasingly using deceptive tactics to defraud car dealers.
According to him, several complaints against the syndicate were reported independently by different victims at different times.
Fatai said: “However, thorough and painstaking investigations by detectives of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, revealed striking similarities in the methods employed by the suspects, leading to the harmonisation of the investigations.
“The investigations established the existence of a coordinated criminal syndicate specialising in fraudulently obtaining exotic vehicles from unsuspecting dealers through deception, the issuance of dud and post-dated cheques, and the subsequent conversion of the vehicles for personal gain.
“The first investigation involved one Muritala, who was reported to have obtained vehicles under the false representation that payment would be made after disposing of the vehicles.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime and mentioned one Fatai Balogun, also known as Eleku, as his accomplice.”
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The police commissioner said further investigations revealed that Balogun was already under investigation by the SCID in connection with a similar offence.
“He admitted participating in the fraudulent transactions and disclosed that the vehicles were subsequently handed over to one Otunba Olamilekan Ismail, who is currently at large.
“Investigations further linked Balogun to 12 exotic vehicles fraudulently obtained from different dealers.
“Through intelligence-led operations and the AUTOREG vehicle tracking platform, detectives recovered the following vehicles: a Toyota RAV4 (2010 model), Toyota Highlander (2007 model), and Toyota Highlander (2017 model).
“The second case was reported by three different complainants against Balogun, Ismail Olamilekan and others for conspiracy, fraudulent conversion, issuance of dud cheques and stealing.
“Investigations revealed that the suspects fraudulently obtained seven vehicles valued at approximately ₦700 million after falsely claiming that the vehicles were being supplied to prominent politicians in Abuja.
“Payment was made using post-dated cheques, all of which were dishonoured upon presentation at the bank.”
Speaking with journalists, Balogun admitted collecting several vehicles from different automobile dealers but claimed he handed them over to Otunba Olamilekan, who allegedly told him he had secured supply contracts from politicians in Abuja.
He further alleged that the fleeing suspect promised him 30 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of the vehicles.
