How we succeed in stealing phones, laptops, cameras from event centres —Suspects

The suspects

The suspects who are members of a notorious syndicate which specialized in stealing mobile phones, Laptops and video cameras, from journalists and guests at event centers across Lagos State, have been arrested by the police.
The suspects who were identified as Augustin Joseph and George Ijie, were rounded recently by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, after one of them stole a mobile phone belonging to a reporter during an event at Victoria Island area of the State.

Vanguard gathered that the suspects who would attend events across the state, pretending to be journalists or invited guests, adopted several method to dispossess their victims such as exchanging empty bags with those of journalists and guests at event centers containing laptops and video cameras.

They were also said to have stolen mobile phones from tables at event centers the moment the owners were not paying attention.

They equally stole some mobile phones from where they were plugged for charging during events, while in some other cases, they disappeared with people’s phone during photo sessions at the events.

Police sources disclosed that Joseph, who stole the reporter’s phone this year while she was charging it at the event was picked up by the police after the reporter lodged a complaint against him with the police while the IRT led by ACP Abba Kyari,was drafted in to investigate the matter.

The CCTV footage of him stealing the phone and leaving the event center was obtained by the IRT and the phone was also tracked to one of his buyers at the computer village Ikeja. The buyer was arrested and he was used in luring Joseph out from hiding.

It was further learnt that Joseph confessed to the crime but claimed that he wasn’t the only one involved in the crime. He thereafter volunteered information which led to the arrest of his colleague, George Ijie, who he said was also a buyer and a specialist in stealing video cameras and laptops from event centers across the state.

When interviewed, 38-year-old Joseph, who is a native of Aniocha South area of Delta State said that he went into stealing after losing his job as a staff of a construction company in Lagos. Joseph who said he came to Lagos in 2009 confessed that he started stealing phones from event centers in 2013.

Source: Vanguard