The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Calabar, the Cross River state capital, said it has arrested a suspected car snatcher named Mr. Felix Ewang.
Parading the suspect at the State Command of the Corps, Dr. Benito Eze, the Cross River Commandant of the Corps, said the suspect was arrested at Ogoja-Ikom expressway, following a tip-off by members of the public.
According to him, the grey coloured Acura MDX Sports Utility Vehicle was snatched from the owner at gun point at Jabi in Abuja, on July 24, by suspected armed robbers.
“The arrest of the suspect came after we received a signal from our National Headquarters in Abuja about the stolen jeep; and we immediately deployed men of our intelligence unit into action.
“With the details and identification which they gave us, we were able to spread our intelligence network across the 18 local government areas of the state.
“On August 2, our men sighted a vehicle with similar identification at Ikom-Ogoja expressway, but the plate number had been changed’’, he said.
He said that the vehicle was displayed at a vehicle stand and marked for sale.
“Our men disguised themselves and proposed to buy the car; and during the interaction, they had close look at the vehicle and discovered that the engine and chassis number was the same as the one we had in our record.
“After observing all these similar identifications, our men had to re-in force, and the Nigerian Army that were located at Ogoja assisted my men in picking up the vehicle’’, he said.
He said that after extensive investigation, it was confirmed that the car was stolen.
“After our preliminary investigation, we had to package the suspect and the exhibit and hand them over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
“We had to hand over to the Police, because the matter is a criminal case’’, said.
He advised members of the public to desist from all act of criminality, adding that they should not buy any vehicle with incomplete or questionable documents.
The Suspect, Mr. Felix Ewang, 29, said in his defence that the car was given to him by his friend to sell and get some commission in return.
He said he never knew that the car was stolen and was only doing his legitimate business. He promised to give details about how to get the person who gave the car to him to the law enforcement officers.
“I have been selling cars for him; but I will help you with useful information you can use to get him’’, he said. (NAN)
