By Bola Owolola
A suspected phone thief, Lawal Deolu who before his arrest was making at least N18,000 daily is now singing before policemen who nabbed him at the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos.
The suspect told the police that he was making the money selling stolen phones.
Deolu was arrested last Friday around 5 p.m. when he tried to pick a phone from his new target at Ikeja bus stop. His target, this time around was lucky when the phone incidentally fell from his (Deolu,s) hand, thus alerting the its owner.
The suspect was arrested by the RRS officers attached to the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) stationed nearby. “Just as the suspect was explaining the source of the phones in his possession, one of his victims, who was trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening saw his phone in his hands,” says a statement from the RRS today.
Deolu, in his confession to the police, explained that he was operating in Computer Village, Ikeja and Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.
He told the police: “On Friday, I was in Computer Village as usual. I have picked two phones in the morning which I sold to my customers in Computer Village.
“In the afternoon, I resumed picking few phones. I was picking the third one when the owner raised an alarm which attracted the attention of the RRS men. They arrested me and unfortunately, just as I was trying to prove my innocence, one of my victims identified his phone in my hand.
“I don’t operate every time. I go out maybe twice in a week and I make at least N18,000 from pick-pocketing. There were times I made more than that, especially, when I picked expensive phones.
“I sell the phones to Afeez and Lanre. They are street guys in Computer Village. I was trained by Bello. I have not seen him a long while now.”
Meanwhile the suspect was said to be assisting the police in the arrest of the buyers of his stolen phones in Computer Village, Ikeja.