Mouths went agape when a truck driver, identified as Monday, confessed to his moves to divert 670 bags of guinea corn worth N32 million, which he loaded from Kaduna State, with Ibadan, Oyo State, as the point of offloading. Unknown to the owner of the goods, as Monday listened to his directives while in Kaduna, his mind was divided into different thoughts – who to contact for the purchase of the about-to-be-diverted goods, how much he would make, how to disappear after carrying out the act, and how to become untraceable. However, operatives of the Monitoring Unit, Oyo State Police Command not only succeeded in arresting the suspect and his motor boy, they also saved the owner of the goods from losing N32 million which Monday was ready to offer a buyer at a giveaway price of N11 million.

Monday and his assistant, Kareem, were recently arrested in the Irepo area of Oyo Town by the operatives where he kept the truck, waiting for the buyers to come with the payment, and already calculating what he would do with the money.

The Police Public Relations Officer DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, who spoke on the arrest, said that operatives of the Command Monitoring Unit, Oyo Operational Base, acting on credible intelligence, and as directed by Commissioner of Police Olugbenga Ayodeji Abimbola, stormed the hideout of a syndicate which allegedly specialised in the diversion and unlawful conversion of goods in transit.

The operation led to the arrest of Monday, aged 46, and Kareem, aged 40. Recovered was an IVECO truck with registration number MUS 809 XY (Lagos), loaded with the 670 bags.

Saturday Tribune learnt that the principal suspect, Monday, on getting to Ogbomoso, diverted the goods and attempted to sell them for a yet-to-be-arrested receiver. He had confessed, during interrogation, to the crime he allegedly committed.

“The investigation is still ongoing and the suspects would be charged to court after its conclusion,” the PPRO stated, adding that the achievement underscores the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and its resolve to dismantle criminal networks threatening economic security.

In an interview with Saturday Tribune, the arrested truck driver, Monday, who hails from Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, admitted diverting the goods he was meant to deliver in Ibadan. In his narration of how he carried out the act, Monday said: “I have known the owner of the goods for a long time, and I used to tell my fellow drivers to pick goods from him whenever they went to the state and had nothing to load back to the South West. I had his telephone number. When I arrived Kaduna, I loaded the guinea corn bags belonging to him. The destination where I would offload the goods was Ibadan. When I got to Ogbomoso, I decided to sell them to someone in Oyo Town. I went to some boys to make inquiries and they introduced a man to me. They gave me his telephone number. When I got to Oyo, he came with two others. They asked me to pack the truck somewhere and wait for them. I was waiting for his return when the police came to arrest me.”

Saying that it was his first time of committing such an offence, the suspect disclosed that he intended selling the goods for N11 million.

The second suspect, Kareem, from Modakeke in Osun State, who accompanied the driver, however said that he was not privy to his boss’s plan. Kareem disclosed that he first worked with Monday as a bus conductor within Lagos before he started operating a local restaurant. He stated further that he contacted Monday again when his business collapsed. His aim, according to him, was to work with him for about a month, gather enough money and rebuild his business.

“This is the first time I would follow him after contacting him in June. We went to Zamfara State, and from there, Monday went to Kaduna to load goods. I didn’t know he wanted to divert the goods. I was not there when he was negotiating with those he wanted to sell the goods to,” Kareem said.

The owner of the goods, Comrade Gabriel Abba, who is also the Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers (Heavy Duty Trucks) in Kaduna, and who had yet to grasp the fact that he almost lost N32 million, said that the driver had approached him, telling him that he got his phone number from another driver to go and load goods from him.

“The suspect said he was in Zamfara State, and would come to me in Kaduna to load my goods. I tried to call the person he mentioned, but my calls were not going through. On his arrival, I handed over the necessary documents and took him to the company where he would load the guinea corn bags. I had yet to make contact with the person he mentioned, and I asked that his picture and that of his motor boy be taken with the truck when it was loaded. I also photocopied his driver’s licence and waybill, but the name he gave to the police is different from what he told me. The phone number he gave us is also not the one known with him.

“After loading, I gave him N450,000 to buy gas for the truck and N100,000 for road expenses. The following day, I sent him N150,000, but to my surprise, he was telling me that he was still in Niger State, asking me to send the N250,000 balance of the money I was to pay him, which he was supposed to get after offloading the goods,” the owner of the goods told Saturday Tribune.

Comrade Abba said he was stunned when he received a call from the police who informed him of how they arrested the driver who was about to sell off his goods and run away. “Immediately, I had a rise in my blood pressure and had to be treated in the hospital before it went back to normal. That was when I could come to Oyo Town to see things myself,” he said.

The owner of the goods commended the operatives of the Monitoring Unit for their intelligence-led policing which saved him from losing N32 million. “Since more than 22 years that I have been in the transport work, I have never seen any police working as those in Oyo,” Comrade Abba commented.

He appealed to the police to further investigate the suspect, saying that all the information he gave about himself, the phone number he was calling with and the account number used in collecting money from him do not tally with all he was saying after his arrest. (Saturday Tribune)

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