Police bust syndicate ‘stealing cars with dud cheques’ in Lagos, recover seven vehicles

The Lagos state police command says its operatives have dismantled a suspected criminal syndicate involved in obtaining vehicles under false pretences, fraudulent conversion, theft and the issuance of dud cheques.

In a statement on Tuesday, Abimbola Adebisi, police spokesperson in Lagos, said operatives of the state criminal investigation department (SCID) in Panti carried out the operation on the directive of Tijani Fatai, the commissioner of police in the state.

“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.

“Through intelligence-led operations and the AUTOREG Vehicle Tracking Platform, detectives recovered Toyota Highlander (2017 Model), Toyota Highlander (2007 Model), Toyota RAV4 (2010 Model), two (2) Toyota Hiace Buses (2016 Model), one Toyota Hiace Bus (2020 Model), and one 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 charged to court after investigations are concluded.

The police spokesperson advised dealers and business owners to carry out due diligence before releasing vehicles, especially where payments are made through post-dated cheques or unfamiliar intermediaries.