The police in Ondo State have apprehended a three-member syndicate involved in stealing vehicles with a master key. The syndicate, which has been operating in the state, would steal vehicles from owners’ compounds and drive them out of the state, often to Lagos for resale or disassembly.
Rotimi Akinsanoye, 38, one of the suspects, revealed that the group usually carried out their operations early in the morning when people were preparing to leave for work. The other members of the syndicate are Temodayo Folajimi, aged 43, and Waheed Adekanbi, aged 51.
The syndicate was busted following a complaint in 2024 from a car owner (name withheld) who reported that his vehicle had been stolen from his parking lot in Oke-Aro, Akure, the Ondo State capital. The police quickly flagged the stolen car at the Licensing office, where one of the suspects, who came to register the vehicle, was identified.
State Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, said the stolen vehicle was presented for registration at the Licensing office, and the police were alerted. The person trying to register the car claimed to have bought it for Four Million Three Hundred Thousand Naira (₦4,300,000.00) from a car dealer named Temodayo Folajimi. Folajimi led the police to Akinsanoye, who, during interrogation, confessed to being the mastermind behind the theft of several vehicles. Akinsanoye admitted to having stolen a total of seven vehicles, including two Toyota Camry models (popularly known as “tiny light”), one Honda CR-V, and several Toyota Corollas from various locations in the state.
Akinsanoye revealed that five of the stolen vehicles had been dismantled and sold as spare parts by his cohort, Waheed Adekanbi, in Lagos. The police managed to recover two of the stolen vehicles, while the others had already been butchered for parts. Adekanbi is currently in custody, assisting the police in confirming whether the remaining vehicles were indeed destroyed and sold as spare parts.
The police are continuing their investigation into the syndicate’s operations, and efforts are underway to determine the full extent of their criminal activities.
