operation in Onitsha, Anambra State was recently
foiled by officers and men of the Anambra State
Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS).
Amos Chieku, Ndubuisi Uche, Chibuike
Alakwachi, Ugochukwu Igbokwe and Nonso are
five members of the gang currently assisting police
authorities to trace the whereabouts of other
members still at large.
A couple of weeks ago, one robbery informant
reportedly alerted Uche, popularly called 'I Chop'
of a planned movement of a large amount of
money from Onitsha to an undisclosed
destination, apparently by a group of businessmen.
The amount involved was such that Uche, 31,
alone could not handle.
He promptly invited some 'tested' hands in the act
of robbery to join him in the 'business.' Chieku,
alias Danga is based in Abuja, but moves
anywhere across the country to perpetrate his
crime once he is called upon.
Chieku, 23, is said to be good with guns. He is also
a dependable driver. Alakwachi, 21, is based in
Lagos and is reported to be a former escapee from
prison for similar offence. Nonso is said to be the
gang's armourer and also good with weapons.
Whereas Chieku hails from Enugu State, Uche is a
native of Amasiri Afikpo in Ebonyi State. The third
member of the gang, Igbokwe is not based in
Nigeria. For seven years, he has been living in
South Africa.
Igbokwe, 27, and native of Owerri in Imo State, is
not gainfully employed in the South African
country, but he is occasionally invited home by the
gang when there is a 'business' considered is
requiring an expert touch. Igbokwe is reported to
be a professional gun handler at least the kind of
guns in the armoury of the Nigerian military.
He is also reported to provide foreign cover for all
members of the group. It was for the foiled
operation that Igbokwe flew into the country from
South Africa last week. So, last Sunday, all
members of the gang were scheduled to meet at a
hotel in Onitsha from where they would strategise
before their final assault the following day,
Monday, 6 May, 2013.
Their plan was reportedly to ambush the bullion
van moving the cash and intercept the convoy. It
was reported that Uche, the alleged gang leader,
had instructed that should there be any resistant
to their action, his men should not hesitate to
'waste' such a person. But the news of the gang's
planned operation got to the notice of the SARS
leadership, which promptly put men on alert for
the gang.
While waiting for his gang to arrive the hotel, men
of the SARS reportedly swooped on Uche and he
was promptly arrested. But Uche would not go
down alone. So, he promised that he would assist
law enforcement agents to get other members of
the gang.
So, the police decided to play along while Uche
called his partners-in-crime to join him at the
hotel. One by one, Chieku, Nonso, Alakwachi and
Igbokwe all arrived to be welcome by Uche. To the
chagrin of all, they landed in the hands of
operatives of SARS team strategically stationed at
the hotel. Some of their gang were said to still
being awaited after Uche had called them that
there was a slight change in time for the operation.
In their confessional statements before Saturday
Mirror in Awka, Chieku denied knowledge of the
planned attempt to rob that day. Though he
confessed to have been an armed robber before, he
said he had repented a long time ago.
He claimed he was only bringing his family from
Abuja where he had accident on the way with his
car. At another breadth, Chieku confessed to being
a member of the gang and that it was Uche that
introduced him to the 'deal' that led to their arrest.
"I know that the game is up, but let I Chop tell you
all I know about the business. We all met Uche at
Enugu before we came to Onitsha. He was the one
that called me that there is business for us at
Onitsha," Chieku added. Nonso, on his part, denied
being a robber, but said that he knows Uche and
Chieku who used to come and eat in his mother's
canteen in Enugu.
This claim, Uche rejected. Uche, while confessing
to his crime, said that all five of them were
members of the same gang. He confirmed that
Igbokwe flew into the country from Nigeria for the
planned operation, while Alakwachi also came
from Lagos for the same operation.
When Saturday Mirror asked Uche how it was
possible for someone to fly in from South Africa to
carry out a robbery operation and also go back to
that country, Uche answered, "What are you
saying?
How much is a South African ticket when you go
for an operation and make N5 million or N10
million. Let me tell you that some of our gang are
scattered in Lagos, Abuja and abroad. You contact
those ones that you want to be in your team for a
particular operation.
The claim that they are not involved in the Onitsha
operation that led to our arrest are false. They will
not tell you the truth. Some months back,
Alakwachi betrayed me by aligning himself with a
contact I gave him and I cursed him that he would
soon be caught," Uche said.
But Igbokwe's claim is different. He said: "I deal in
drugs in South Africa. I did not know that they are
robbers. I just came home looking for some
money to continue my business.
I wanted to dupe Chiewku N300,000, but I was
roped into this case." This was, however, also
denied by Uche who said Igbokwe always come
from South Africa to rob, stay some time in Lagos
and travel back.
A senior member of the SARS who does not want
his name in print, said that with the arrest of Uche,
there would be a high degree of peace in Onitsha
and the entire South East. The police officer
claimed Uche has been on the wanted list of the
police for a long time ago. "We have been looking
for I Chop for a long time now.
There is hardly any serious robbery in Onitsha that
Uche would not be part of it. He is such a
notorious robber that his name even sends jitters
down the spines of security men and other
criminals in the state and environs," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment