A pastor and two
others have been arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad, SARS, in Lagos for allegedly diverting a truckload of air
conditioners valued at N25 million.
Pastor Peter Iyasele, who is a member of the gang, was apprehended
alongside the others, Anthony Ibiade and Amas Debar at the Igando area
of Lagos, following a surveillance mounted by the police to track them
down.
Confessing to
the crime, Pastor Iyasele said he was a member of the group but that he
opted out so as to invest his own share in a transportation business.
“My name is Peter Iyasele, 56-year-old, I am married and I have four children. I am a pastor and I have a church along Badagry expressway...
“I was arrested
at Igando bus-stop for participating in hijacking and diversion of goods
worth over N25 million. I have been engaging in these operations for
years but after a while I stopped and invested proceeds from the
operations in transportation.
“I had made
enough from series of operations in the past and I was doing well in my
transportation business before I was duped by a woman.”
He claimed that he had to re-join the gang so as to get money to expand his church.
Out of the 25 split air conditioners that were in the truck, only 23 were recovered by the police.
Confirming the
incident, the commissioner of police in charge of SARS, Chris Ezike,
said Pastor Iyasele did the driving, while the other two did the
hijacking.
It was gathered
that the trio were part of a robbery gang that hijacks cargo trucks in
Lagos and Ogun. A fourth member of the gang identified as Oliver is
still on the run.