RRS Foils Kidnap Attempt Of Two Year-Old Boy

Operatives of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command over the weekend arrested Suleiman Seidu, 33, for attempting to kidnap a two year-old boy, Chimdi Udwu, in Owode area of Ogun State.

The Decoy Team of the squad got a hint about a kidnap attempt on a little boy by one of the two persons who the prime suspect had contracted to perpetrate the crime.

Upon gathering further intelligence, a member of the RRS Decoy Team posed as a lady that the kidnapper sought to help give the child a good care.

RRS source disclosed that for more than two weeks while the kidnapping took shape, the investigator, pretending as an accomplice, was exchanging information with prime suspect.

It was revealed that the suspect, assured the accomplice that he has gotten motorcycle to use in kidnapping the boy, stressing that the ransom was N10 million, which the father of the parents of the boy would be able to afford as a landlord and dealer in electrical appliances.

It was learnt that when the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, was informed of the jurisdictional challenge of arresting the kidnapped suspect in Ogun State. The CP ordered the Decoy team to proceed assuring them he would contact his colleague in Ogun, adding that there was no jurisdiction in crime.

Source in RRS disclosed that one of the kidnapping suspect was shocked by the insistence of the prime suspect to kidnap the little boy and request for N10 Million ransom.

He continued: “I knew it was going to boomerang if I conceal the information and not inform the police….  Then, I called one of my friends who resides in Lagos and explained the whole idea of kidnap attempt on an innocent boy by someone in my neighbourhood, and the person also solicited me to join him to commit the crime…. It was this my friend that told me to come to Lagos to inform the RRS, which I eventually came the following day to report the case at its headquarters in Lagos,” the informant was quoted as saying.

The source added that the suspect had successfully kidnapped two persons in Kogi State where he collected huge ransoms from their families.

Upon his arrival at the RRS’ Headquarters in Lagos, the suspect who confessed to the crime said that he wanted to kidnap the young boy because his biological mother is seriously ill and looking for money by all means to pay her hospital bill.

In his confessional statement, he revealed, “I have been on the trail of that young boy and her parents for quite a while now. I conceived the idea to kidnap him when I was left with no option than to commit the crime because my mother is very ill at the moment…. I wanted to demand for N10 Million ransom but if his parents cannot afford the whole at least I was expecting N3 Million at the end of the day…. Although, I just relocated to that area and I am not that familiar with the nooks and crannies of that area very well…. Then, I thought of contracting someone who knew the environment very well and would make the job easy for me.”

Interrogating him how he would carry out the kidnapping, the Kogi State born suspect explained, “I had been watching the movements of his parents for about two weeks. I discovered that whenever he was taking the boy to school every day, when the man drives out…. He would alight from the car to lock the gate because they don’t have a gate keeper in their house. Also he takes him to school between 7:00 a.m and 8:00 a.m…. What I devised was to kidnap the boy whenever the driver alights from the car to close the gate, escape on a waiting bike…. Although, I live in a room and parlour apartment, I had planned to keep him with me in my house to be demanding and threatening his parent to bring my expected ransom.”

The father of the child, Udwu, who had no inkling of the looming woe, thanked the Policemen for carrying out the intelligence report successfully which led to the arrest of the kidnap suspect.

Reacting to the incidence, the Police Public Relations Officer of Lagos State, Superintendent of Police, Dolapo Badmus, said that the suspect would be charged to court upon completion of the Police investigation.

The suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, for further investigation.

RRS Nabs Five In-Traffic Robbers

The onslaught on in-traffic robbers by the operatives of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command is yielding results with the arrest of five robbery suspects in different parts of the metropolis.

The suspects were apprehended during a special raid by the RRS operatives on robbers who were attacking and dispossessing members of the public of their valuables in traffic.

The suspects, Oyeleke Abdullah (24), Olajide Dipo (17), Saheed Alayande (17), Azeez Yusuph  (21) and Oyeniwa Wasiu (18) were nabbed in Victoria Island, Ojodu Berger, Oshodi, Obalende and Ilubirin around the state.

RRS investigator revealed that before the arrest, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, had directed the RRS Commander to deploy more operatives to Ojodu Berger, Lekki and Oshodi in order to ensure ‘Ember’ month free crime.

It was gathered that some operatives of the RRS’s Decoy Team, in arresting one of the suspects, Azeez Yusuph, pretended to have had a broken down car under the Ilubirin Bridge around 4:23 a.m.

“It was very early in the morning when an undercover policeman pretended as if his vehicle broke down on the bridge while some of his colleagues hid somewhere to ambush the robbers who would come and harass the lone occupant of the vehicle…. The suspect showed up few minutes trying to collect handset and money from him, that was when we arrested him,” the source said.

He hinted that the operatives also got complaints from members of the public on RRS social media platforms about the activities of miscreants on road users with broken down vehicle in Ilubirin.

Abdullahi confessed to interrogators “I was trying to make ends meet by snatching valuables of stranded drivers on the bridge,” adding that he sleeps underneath the bridge along with his colleagues.

In his confessional statement to interrogators, another suspect, Oyeleke Abdullah, a danfo driver revealed, “I snatched a Zeltel phone from a passenger around 9:00 p.m. on Saturday…. There was traffic entering Lagos on Saturday at Berger, I decided to use that opportunity to snatch handset and other valuables from commuters. My colleague and I do this whenever we need money.”

Another suspect, Saheed Alayande, who was arrested in Oshodi disclosed that he was a bus conductor in Oshodi. “Whenever I am not doing that, I carry load and wares for people with my friend. It was here that I stole the phone that I was caught with before I was arrested.”

Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Dolapo Badmos, said that the Command was on high alert to curb social miscreants who exploit traffic situations in the metropolis to dispossess Lagosians of their valuables on the road.

The suspects have been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Yaba, for further investigation.

I Duped 33 Men On Instagram Acting As A Lady – Suspect

Falope Oluwole Israel, a 22-year old suspect arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos State Police Command, has disclosed that he duped over 33 men while pretending to be a lady on Instagram.

Falope it was revealed, was arrested when officials of the RRS decoy team, who had been monitoring him for some weeks, trailed him to a popular club in Ikeja City Mall on Thursday evening, before arresting him.

The officers were reported to have monitored him, and those that he was interacting with at the club before arresting him and a colleague late in the night.

It was gathered that the suspect recently celebrated his birthday at Hard & Rock, Lekki, Lagos, week before his arrest, where he lavished over half a million on foods and drinks.

The suspect, a 100 level part time student of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos, who confessed committing the crime, said that he has been in the business for more than two years.

The Police revealed that Falope’s activities on Instagram was placed under investigations when it received a complaint about an Instagram handle @blackberbiedoll, used for criminal activities, which was later traced to him.

Apart from @blackberbiedoll, which he prominently used for fraudulent activities, he maintained @froshwhite007 and @froshwhite separately for same purpose.

The complainant, Bernard stated that he got a friend request from @blackberbiedoll. “Apparently, the picture on the account was that of a lady. The lady in question messaged me on BBM. Honestly, I thought I was chatting with a woman who claimed to be in Nigeria at the time.

“She lied to me that her father was a Nigerian and her mum, a Kenyan, and so we got talking. At a point, she lied that she was building a beauty outfit in Ikota Shopping Mall, VGC and that she was in need of some money to complete the mall,” Bernard added.

He explained further, “I had to transfer N1 million to her. Weeks later, I got suspicious of the account name Olawole Israel Oluwaseun Falope. I ran a search on Google, and then discovered it was all scam.... Immediately, I reported the incident to Instagram and that account was blocked and later suspended to prevent others from falling victim.”

Another victim, who did not want his identity disclosed said he paid N100,000 into her account to support her bogus fashion outfit.

Admitting the allegation, the suspect noted that since he started the fraudulent act about 2 years ago, he had duped no fewer than 33 men pretending to be a lady on Instagram and that the least amount he received from any of them was N80,000.

“When I started, much as I pretended to be a lady on phone, some men on the other side didn’t believe me. I then downloaded an app on Google which transformed my voice into that of a lady whenever I am having conversation.... I got several pictures of Shayla, a pretty United States based lady on my profile. Since then, men have been disturbing me and calling to request for a date,” he stated.

He said, “What I do is that I assess people based on their appearance on Instagram, add them and thereafter open up conversations with them before I start bringing up all manners of stories in order to dupe them.... At a point, I lied to most of them that I had an accident and I lost my ATM. I told them that I need some money. Some of them were generous enough to drop money into my account.”

“I lied to them that I was putting up a  boutique and saloon at Ikota, VGC and Lekki, and that I need money to finish setting up.... I know I made a mistake downloading Shayla’s pictures and used them for fraudulent purposes. I am telling you the truth, those that I have collected money from cant be more than 33,” he explained.

Investigations revealed that the owner of the profile pictures the suspect used, @Shayla had complained to Instagram that some Nigerians were using her profile pictures to scam unsuspecting members of the public.

It was also disclosed that the suspect claimed to be a friend of Toke Makinwa, Tonto Dike, Don jazzy, Peter Okoye, Toyin Aihmaku, Tee Y Mix, Oristsefemi, Timaya, Sean Tizzle, Dami Adenuga, Femi Otedola, Mike Adenuga jnr, Ramsey Noah e.t.c.

“I know all of them. I attend a lot of shows, I meet them, take photographs with them, even exchange numbers. Like sister Toke Makinwa, Tonto Dike, Uncle Ramsey Noah, these are the kind of celebrities I look up to and I want to be like them,” he stated.

But RRS investigators confirmed that he was following a lot of Nigerian celebrities on Instagram but they could not confirm if any of them fell prey to Falope's antics, as many his Instagram chats with them got no response.

They added that a Ghanian business man who Falope claimed to have met at a popular club in Nigeria rebuffed his request to engage him in a chat.

They noted that Falope claims of been a half-cast, Fashion designer, stylist, cosmetologist, model were all part his fraud to make people fall for him. He was never a trainee or a specialist in any of this.

Our source added that he is not an half-cast as he claimed to be, rather he bleached his skin.

"He didn’t deny this claim. He admitted bleaching his skin to escape the taunting of girls that he was a very ugly guy,” the source stated.

Items recovered from the suspect included, an iphone 6, 1 Samsung Galaxy A5, an Apple tablet, hand and neck chains, some new notes and a handbag.

Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Suprintendent Dolapo Badmos, warned Nigerains to be careful on the internet because scammers are on the prowl worldwide.

The suspect has been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigations.

Find Something Good Doing, Your Baby Is Your Responsibility

The Commissioner of Police Lagos State, CP Fatai Owoseni, warned and directed the release of this young lady with her baby for stealing plantain at Agbowa Police Station. CP also gave her N10,000.

RRS Discovers Fake Embassy, Arrests Two Chinese

The Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos State Police Command has discovered fake embassy operating in Lagos where many innocent members of the public had been swindled.

 The Policemen attached to the squad swooped on them; two Chinese and two Nigerians were apprehended during the raid on their office situated inside an hotel,  Golden Point and Suite, on Duduyemi Street in Ejigbo.

The Chinese: Liu Honyang, 47, Sun Xinai, 49; and their Nigerian collaborators, Oriyomi Olawale, 47 and Desmond Chinedu, 25,  conspired and swindled Nigerians who had planned  to travel out of the country to seek greener pastures.

It was gathered that the operatives acted on the intelligence reports received from members of the public about the illicit act of these Chinese using Nigeria citizens as cover.

Our sources revealed that the Policemen lodged in the hotel for two days monitoring their activities before eventual arrest.

After the arrest, some of their victims showed up at the RRS’s Headquarters, recounting how they were duped respectively, hence their deportation from Trinidad and Tobago.

According to one of the victims,   Adekunle Adefuye, “I met these people (suspects) through one of their agents, Dorcas Slyver. She is a daughter to my brother’s pastor in Abeokuta. I told her my intentions and zeal to travel to United States of America…. After a while, she told me to come to Lagos that she can procure the American visa for me…. On getting to Lagos, she took me to these Chinese where I was told that I should go to Trinidad and Tobago…. They persuaded me to go Trinidad and Tobago that it was easier to secure employment with at least 3,000 dollars as salary.”

He continued; “initially, I declined to take their bait, insisting that I preferred America to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T)…. But in the long run, they brainwashed me into agreeing to go to Trinidad and Tobago. It was at this point, I was told that I would pay N1.3 million for the whole process including visa processing and flight fare…. The payment was made in installment. N376,000 for Visa, ticket N850,000, accommodation N39,000 and Visa Fee N33,000, which I obliged and paid all the monies into Dorcas’ GTB Accounts: 0130671906.”

He revealed that he and another person were rounded up immediately they got to Trinidad and Tobago by the country’s immigration officers for coming into the country with fake visas.

 

"We spent two days underground inside the Police custody. They treated us like criminals trying to enter the country illegally," he added.

"We left Lagos enroute Lome on October 19th, 2016. From Lome to Sao Paulo in Brazil. From there, we moved to Panama where we boarded another plane to Trinidad and Tobago…. On getting to the country, we were arrested by their security operatives accusing us of entering their country with fake visa and documents…. We were locked up for 48 hours before we were deported on October 22nd, 2016 and arrived Nigeria the following day,” he added.

Adefuye stressed, “When we arrived Nigeria, we didn’t let them know we have been deported. They thought possibly we were lucky to have entered the T&T without any challenge.

It was one Good Samaritan that came to our rescue in Trinidad and Tobago, who pleaded for us when they threatened to prosecute us before we were sent back to Nigeria.

On his part, Rasheed Ololade, said that it was same agent, Dorcas Sylver, who persuaded him to go to T&T too, adding that all the money he paid amounted to N1.3M into her account.

“I met Adefuye at their office in Golden Point Hotel and Suites, Ejigbo in Lagos. And we became good friends henceforth…. We were only fortunate to have escaped being jailed in T&T for coming into the country with fake documents and Visas…. They beat hell out of us and starved us for the whole two days before fortune smiled at us. The Police in T and T collected all our belongings including money and threatened to kill us. In fact, they were abusing Nigerians calling us unprinted names…. In fact, we were lucky to have been deported because that country is a junkyard for drug addicts and dealers,” he lamented.

“Most of the Nigerians we met there were barely recognisable, and were high on drugs…. One of them, confided in me that he was struggling to survive by dealing in drug and that he has resorted to fate, since coming home was difficult," he added.

Another victim, Friday Owah, who was at their office when they were arrested, said that he just paid N600,000 after being convinced to jettison his Europe trip for Trinindad & Tobago.

According to him, “I was introduced to them by one man, Mr Oscar. I paid directly to Madam Sun’s GT Bank account…. She promised to secure the visa for me within a space of two weeks. By the time the visa was ready, I was unable to eke-out another N850,000 for flight ticket, which made the T&T visa to get expired…. I went back to see her to help me again for same visa. And she told me to pay another N150, 000. It was after I had made another payment of N150,000 to her account that someone told me they don’t accept stamp visa but only electronic visa is allowed in that country.”

“I went back to explain to her but she denied the information but still insisted that stamp visa is acceptable in that country…. Then, I told her that I was no longer interested in T&T and she should return my money. I came to their office that fateful day to demand for the money when the Rapid Response Squad team came to arrest them,” he added.

Another victim, Lukmon Odeyemi, a footballer by profession, also parted away with N125, 000 for Trinidad and Tobago’s en route visa.

“The lady (Sun Xinai) charged me N400, 000 but I was only able to raise N125,000 to her with the hope of balancing her by month end,” he noted.

In his reaction, Liu Hongyag, one of the arrested suspects, said that he only helped her boss to do paper works and documents.

"We operated as separate entity as travel agency under the company's name, Golden Point Hotel and Tour but our office is located inside the hotel…. Sun Xinai  is my sister,  and she is the director of the travel agency.  I only do paper works and documents for visa procurement…. I don’t know how she secures visa for people. All what I know is that she travels to Abuja and comes back with that stamped visa. I am a phone repairer,” he stressed.

Our source posited that investigation has further revealed that the Trinidad and Tobago’s Embassy has confirmed the Visa fake and the two Chinese agents unknown.

But Sun Xinai, the major suspect, noted that she was unaware that stamped visa for Trindad and Tobago was no longer tenable in that country anymore.

Responding to RRS's visa enquiry, the High Commission of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in its letter dated 7th December, 2016, referenced ABJ: 6/2/3/14, read in part:

"...the Mission can categorically confirm that the individual SUN XINAI who is claiming to be an agent of this Mission is unknown to us…. Furthermore, this Mission does not use the services of an 'agent' in any capacity whatsoever and has never done so in the past either…. With regard to the authenticity of the attached visas, the Mission can also categorically confirm that those visas were not issued at this High Commission and are clearly fraudulent…. Noteworthy too is the fact that in June 2015, this Mission stopped the practice of issuing stamped visas in passports in favour of individual electronic visas issued from our country's capital Port of Spain.” 

The letter was signed by Garth Lamsee, Acting High Commissioner

Items recovered from them during the raid were 25 international passports, 10 laptops, screw driver, 5 phones and paper documents.

While confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer of Lagos State, Superintendent of Police, SP Dolapo Badmus, said that Police will not rest on its oars in protecting rights of any individual in the country. She said that the Police are on manhunt for all their agents and canvassers.

  

"I will also use this medium to advise the public to be wary of visa agents and anyone who wishes to travel out of the country should direct their applications to the Embassies," she added.

 All the suspects have since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.

Operatives of Lagos State Rapid Response Squad (RRS), with their patrol vehicle during a fleet parade to mark one year of Re-branding of RRS by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos on Tuesday.

L-R: Ops 1, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), DSP Akinwunmi Oke; Executive Secretary, Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Mr. Razak Balogun; Commander RRS, ACP Olatunji Disu and RRS Ops II, ASP. Okechuckwu Nnakwe during a fleet parade to mark one year of Re-branding RRS by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos on Tuesday.