By Desire Emmanuel
A man is currently giving information to men of the Delta State Police Command after a vehicle stolen by kidnappers from their victim five years ago was found with him.
The man, Ifeanyi Paul, aged 48, told police operatives that he bought the vehicle, a Lexus Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), for N1.8 million in 2021, the same year the vehicle was stolen. The SUV was recovered from him last month.
The Public Relations Officer of the command, Bright Edafe, who announced the development in a video posted on his X handle on Monday, June 1, said the victim was kidnapped in his vehicle in 2021.
The victim was however released after payment of an undisclosed amount as ransom. But after his release, the kidnappers went away with the vehicle.
The victim however reported the theft at the police station after regaining his freedom, giving details about the engine and chassis numbers before he eventually fled the Ugbomoro town in Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.
Five years later, the police operatives on patrol flagged down the vehicle for a search and on checking the chassis number, it tallied with that of the one stolen by the kidnappers. The man who drove it was arrested immediately.
During his interrogation, he said he bought the vehicle through one of his customers that usually comes to his bar who brought those that sold those who sold it to him, adding that he paid them N1.8 million in cash.
He added that they gave him the original documents of the vehicle bearing the name of the owner, saying that the mistake he made was that he didn’t contact the owner before he bought it.
He also stated that he didn’t know the names of those who brought the vehicle for sale, saying he only knew that the name of the person who brought them was Chidi, alias G-Boy.
He disclosed that since he bought the vehicle in 2021, he had not seen any of them, saying that he was sorry for the mistake of buying a stolen vehicle.
He is currently giving more useful information to the police operatives and he is expected to be charged to court at the conclusion of the investigation.
