The Lagos State Police Command has captured the suspected ringleader of a fraud group accused of swindling dealers out of 29 luxury vehicles worth over N1 billion. The fugitive was identified following statements from other arrested syndicate members who pointed to him as the operation’s architect.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, has ordered the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Yaba to ramp up efforts to locate and capture the remaining members of the network. A police source reported that the group tricked high-end dealers by posing as legitimate business people or political representatives. They would secure cars using worthless or post-dated checks, quickly passing the vehicles to intermediaries to hide the trail.
Detectives linked three separate crime reports to the same organization, focusing on charges ranging from conspiracy and theft to fraud. Investigators utilized intelligence-led tactics and the AUTOREG tracking system to recover 16 of the stolen vehicles, with 12 already returned to their owners. Authorities are still working to recover the remaining cars, valued at roughly N534 million.
The Financial Crimes Section of the SCID is leading the probe under Deputy Commissioner Dayo Akinbisehin. Officials are warning car dealers to conduct thorough background checks on buyers and to remain wary of transactions relying on unfamiliar middlemen or deferred payments.
