The Lagos State Police Command has announced the dismantling of a suspected criminal syndicate accused of obtaining vehicles through fraudulent means, including false pretences, theft, unlawful conversion and the issuance of dud cheques.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Abimbola Adebisi, spokesperson for the Lagos police command, said operatives of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, carried out the operation following a directive from the Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai.
“The breakthrough followed investigations into three separate cases, which revealed a coordinated syndicate that fraudulently obtained exotic vehicles from dealers using false representations and dud or post-dated cheques before disposing of the vehicles for personal gain,” the statement reads.
The police spokesperson said the operation, supported by intelligence gathering and the AUTOREG Vehicle Tracking Platform, led to the recovery of seven vehicles.
The recovered vehicles include a Toyota Highlander (2017 model), Toyota Highlander (2007 model), Toyota RAV4 (2010 model), two Toyota Hiace buses (2016 models), one Toyota Hiace bus (2020 model), and a Ford Edge SUV (2018 model).
“Efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects and recover the remaining vehicles.”
Adebisi added that the suspects would be prosecuted after the completion of investigations.
The police also advised vehicle dealers and business owners to conduct proper verification before releasing vehicles, particularly in transactions involving post-dated cheques or unfamiliar third-party intermediaries.