A suspected gunrunner, Ikechukwu Didi, 54, has confessed to joining a criminal syndicate to raise N6m for a heart operation...READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Didi disclosed this in an interview with THE WHISTLER after he was paraded by the FCT Police Command among 14 others, on Thursday, in Abuja.
He was arrested on June 7, by the anti-car theft unit of the FCT police with the unlawful possession of seven pump-action rifles and over 1000 rounds of live cartridges.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ben Igweh said operatives of the command apprehended Didi after a crime syndicate on its watch list, upon arrest, identified him as their supplier of arms and ammunition.
Speaking to THE WHISTLER Didi admitted to the unlawful possession of the weapons which he said were delivered to him by an individual, whom he had identified to the police.
The FCT CP acknowledged the information, noting that police operatives were on a trail of other members of the syndicate, based on the information provided.
However, Didi told THE WHISTLER that he had only been recruited into the criminal group, and it was his first time taking delivery of the weapons. “They just connected me newly,” he said.
He added, “I do not know the people sending the weapon; I only have a name which I have told the police. I also do not know the people I am sending it to and what they are using it for.” he said.
Recovered pump action rifles
The resident of Dutse Alhaji, a suburb in the FCT said his heart condition pushed him into crime without evaluating the consequences.
“I have been sick and the hospital said they will carry out an operation and it will cost N6m,” he revealed.
When asked about the agreed amount he was to receive if he had delivered the weapon, he said it was not discussed.
He also said that he had yet to raise a dime for his ailment.
He provided documents from the Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital which he said he had been visiting following a diagnosis of his heart condition in 2020.
I Ran Away With My Company’s Car
In another development, 37-year-old Chukwuemeka Udeke a resident of Kubwa, a satellite area of the FCT was apprehended for stealing a company’s car on May 23.
The management of Eclath Human Resources in Jabi, Abuja, where the culprit works, had reported a case of a stolen vehicle to the police, after Udeke was sent to refill the vehicle with fuel.
Weeks after trailing the suspects, the anti-car theft unit of the FCT command tracked Udeke’s phone to Lagos State, and the car was subsequently recovered.
Chukwuemeka Udeke, car theft suspect
Chukwuemeka Udeke, car theft suspect
Speaking to THE WHISTLER in an interview, Udeke said he had been chased out by his landlord for his inability to pay his N350,000 rent when he decided to rob the company of its vehicle and sell it for the sum of N5m.
“Before then, I had written to the company asking for assistance,” he said, noting that his request did not yield any positive result.
Interestingly, Udeke had just worked with his company for three months, earning N70,000 when he decided to hatch his plans.
The new father of twins said on the day he ran away with the vehicle, he had received a call that his belongings had been thrown out of his apartment.
Rather than purchase the fuel, he had decided to use the company’s vehicle to take his family to a safe place.
“I decided to sell the vehicle. When I got to Lagos, they were pricing the vehicle N2m and it was not okay for me. So, I decided to take my family to Enugu and also park the car there while I returned to Lagos. It was in Lagos that I was arrested,” he narrated.
When asked how much he intended to sell the vehicle, Udeke said, “I wanted to sell it, like N5m.”
The suspect said it was his first time taking the belongings of others, hence the choice to park the vehicle in his country home. He advised others to be patient and shun all forms of criminal activities.
Meanwhile, Udeke’s vehicle was among four vehicles and one Hilux recovered by the police recently.
According to the FCT Police CP, criminal elements now resort to the use of anti-tracker devices to prevent security operatives from trailing them.
The Command had recovered two of such devices from the suspects paraded on Thursday.
According to them, there is a transborder car theft syndicate specialised in stealing vehicles from Abuja and neighbouring states and selling them to people in Niger Republic.
The CP warned, “I will still warn the criminals that it is not business as usual. We are focused, determined and eager, we have all it takes: intelligence, security and intelligence to get you.
“So, since they have reached the issue of using a jammer to do their act, we will use an anti-jammer to equally trace them.
“I want to appeal to residents of FCT when you see something, you say something, and we will do something.”
