An 18 year-old suspect arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos State Police Command has disclosed that he ran away from auto engineering to ‘pick pocketing’ because it’s more lucrative.
The suspect, Seun Jimoh, was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday, in Oshodi, while in the act.
The suspect, who was dressed in brown jacket and trousers, like a business executive, before his arrest, had allegedly stolen four mobile phones from unsuspecting commuters.
It was gathered that he was about to remove N18,000 from the pocket of a commuter during another bus stampede when he was caught.
A Police source said:”Unknown to him, two of his victims were on the look out for him after suspecting him of being in custody of their missing phones. While standing at Oshodi, under the bridge, they spotted him removing money from the pocket of a passenger, Gbenga Odeniyi. At that point, his earlier victims, Onuh Austine and Onesimus Paul raised the alarm, which made Jimoh to promptly drop the money and took to his heels, but RRS operatives close to the scene chased and caught him”.
The operatives after listening to all the accusations requested the victims’ phone numbers which were dialled and they were found in Jimoh’s handbag.
While at the RRS’s Headquarters, the suspect confessed to have stolen the two phones during a bus stampede.
In his confessional statement, he said: “On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I was always at Oshodi pick pocketing. I stole an average of eight phones on Mondays and maybe like nine phones on Fridays. I don’t really get more than five phones on Wednesdays.
“I am an orphan. I was brought to Lagos by my uncle. He put me in an auto – mobile workshop, but I ran away from there to Mushin where I took to pick pocketing. All the phones that I steal, I sell them in Alaba Rago to some Hausas. They buy fairly used phones and materials from people. I have been in this business since 2013. I have never been caught or imprisoned before.
“I was not trained in pick pocketing. It is so easy and the idea came naturally to me. You can do it, but you do the easy ones. I get to Oshodi by 6:30 a.m. and I leave after operations around 9:00 a.m. I sell Nokia Microsoft N7, 000; Infinix Hot N8,000; Tecno Y series N7,000 – N9,000 and small Samsung phones N4, 000:00”.
The RRS operatives later invited the owners of the two other phones found with Seun to collect them.
Our source disclosed that Policemen are on the verge of arresting stolen phone buyers mentioned by the suspects, adding that one of the ways to stem cases of phone theft in the state is to pick-up the major buyers.
Confirming the arrest, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Police, Dolapo Badmus, re-assured the people of Lagos of maximum security.
She added that the suspect has given information that would help track down his colleagues in the same trade as well as stolen phone buyers.
The suspect has since been transferred to the Lagos State Task Force on Environment for prosecution.