The Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Lagos State Police Command has arrested two men, Joseph Kogbeto and Diyor Didier, for allegedly stealing money and jewelleries worth N250 million, property of their employers.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, told our correspondent yesterday that the two men, described as stewards and nationals of Benin Republic, had been on the police wanted list since January this year but were arrested penultimate Wednesday.
Elkana said the suspects’ contact person, Alice Kukudu, had already been arrested and charged to court for her alleged involvement in the same offence.
Didier confessed to the police that he was compelled to join the gang because his relatives in Benin Republic always taunted him with poverty whenever he travelled home as his kinsmen who were also working in Nigeria as stewards were doing well financially.
He stated, “Any time I travelled home, my other brothers who worked as cooks in Nigeria would be spending money anyhow. When I complained that I didn’t have money, my relatives would ask if it was not the same work we do. These brothers of mine have built houses back home and are living large.
“When I approached one of them to show me the way, he introduced me to this. In the first operation, I got N2.5m. I did not get anything in the second home we went. We met an empty drawer. I was going for the third operation to where we were called, but unknown to us, the caller was a SARS operative.
“The person that gave us information on the second and third operations was Benjamin. He has been in prison since 2012 over a similar offence. He told us he needed money to facilitate his bail from prison and we should go to a house at Magodo and bring his share after the operation. He operates from the Ikoyi prison.
“I used the money I got from the first operation to buy a plot of land and a motorcycle back home. Unfortunately, I lost the parcel of land because it was sold to three other persons.”
Elkana said detectives recovered a gold scale, two international passports and housebreaking implements from the suspects.
