Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have invaded a shrine and arrested a witch doctor and 25 others suspected to be involved in car-snatching in the state.
Parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Port Harcourt yesterday, the commissioner of police, Olatunji Disu, said three of the suspects identified as Chidube, Anthony and Kelechi, were the major culprits in the ignoble trade.
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Disu said while Chidube trains his men on car-snatching and he is linked to all suspects arrested, Kelechi is an expert in removing trackers and is a wonderful mechanic.
The police commissioner stated that most of the cars stolen were taken to Kano and Anambra states where they were dismantled and sold as scrap.
He further stated that 79 cars have been linked to the suspects, pointing out that most of the suspects met in the correctional centre.
On their modus of operandi, Disu said the suspects use master key to snatch vehicles and convert it to commercial vehicles and drive out of town with passengers to beat security check.
The police commissioner stated that the command also arrested receivers of the vehicle who comes into town with the robbers and tell them the kind of cars to be stolen.
He said, “Their witch doctor has been arrested. He tells them when is safe to go for operation.
“We also have team of robbers who follow you when you go to bank. When you resist them, they attack and fire you.
“Their fire arms has been recovered. Residents should put safety devices in their vehicle and be watchful”.
The police commissioner stated that 17 cars have been recovered and some returned to the owners.