Operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit in Oyo State have paraded three suspected members of a syndicate selling  exotic vehicles stolen in Nigeria across its borders.

Three suspects identified as 33-year-old Adewale Abiola, 36-year-old Kabiru Abobarin and Aliu Rabiu, who confessed to being a part of a syndicate that stole a Lexus SUV from Ilorin in Kwara State, with a plan to transport it to Ibadan and subsequently towards the border.

One of the suspects, Abobarin, confessed to driving the stolen vehicle and involving another apprehended suspect, who he claimed had no knowledge of the business he was into.

“I am Kabiru Abobarin. We went to collect a vehicle from the owner. The incident led us here (police command). The allegation is that I collected someone’s vehicle. The person I know in Abolongo was the person who asked if I knew how to drive a car, since I stopped my working, to connect me with others who we would work with and to fetch me income,” Mr Abobarin stated.

“I did not follow the gang to operate on that day. But the police said the victims, a husband and his wife, were tied with rope during the robbery. The two persons I was connected with were the ones who entered the couple’s house. When they were done, they gave me the car to drive down to Ibadan.”

“This person beside (Adewale Abiola) me is someone I know. He is hungry and anytime I passed by where he was drinking alcohol, I used to help him. He told me one day, “brother, anytime you are travelling and need my help I will be ready to help.” The day I was travelling to transport the stolen vehicle, we saw each other and he agreed to make the journey with me. He is innocent,” Mr Abobarin said.

When interrogated, Adewale Abiola, claimed ignorance of Mr Abobarin’s mission, adding that he followed him on the trip when he said they were going to Ilorin to bring a vehicle to Ibadan.

Mr Abiola said he got to know what happened when police officers sighted the stolen Lexus vehicle and stopped them.

“I am Ayanwale Adewale Abiola. I did not know the job he was into. I see him as an area brother, and I told him to help me him because due to the economy, there is hardly any money on me,” Mr Abiola said.

“So, the last time I saw him, he said he wanted to pick a vehicle for his boss from Ilorin to Ibadan. I suggested that I could follow him since I did not have any work I was really doing and wanted to source for a little money.

“When I got there, he asked me to stay at Gere Alimi. He arrived with a car, and we moved. Only for us to get here and I heard gunshots. I just saw that it was the kind of thing we hear in the news. I turned around to see that the gunshots were from police officers, and I fell on the floor afterwards,” the suspect said.

The third suspect in the case, Aliu Rabiu, confessed to being an accomplice who assisted in driving stolen cars to Nigerian borders, where a pre-arranged contact received the vehicles.

“I am Aliu Rabiu. Armed robbery led me here(police command). When the gang members forcefully seize a vehicle, they give it to me. I take it to the border, where an arranged person would come to meet me to get it across,” Mr Rabiu said.

The police command in Oyo State, in a statement by its spokesperson, Ayanlade Olayinka, explained that a suspect in its custody linked to an armed robbery case, during interrogation confirmed knowledge of the activities of a criminal gang that specialised in receiving and conveying stolen vehicles to foreign countries. 

“Following this lead, operatives allowed the suspect to operate his mobile phone under controlled circumstances, during which members of the syndicate forwarded to him pictures of a vehicle they were about to steal and instructed him to make proper arrangements for its reception, preparation and movement across the border for sale in a foreign country,” Mr Olayinka said.

The spokesman said the command received actionable intelligence on August 24 from the Kwara State police command, which requested assistance in intercepting a Lexus RX 350 SUV, 2017 model, which had been stolen from a woman at gunpoint at her residence in Ilorin, Kwara State, alongside other valuables.

He said the state’s Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, immediately directed the anti-violence operation unit to mount an intelligence-led stop-and-search operation along the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway to intercept the stolen vehicle and arrest the perpetrators.

“At about 0400hrs on 25 August 2026, VCRU operatives sighted the stolen Lexus SUV and attempted to stop it for interrogation. The occupants, however, abandoned the vehicle and fled in different directions into the bush in an attempt to evade arrest,” Mr Olayinka said.

“The operatives gave them a hot chase, resulting in the arrest of two suspects, one of whom sustained a bullet wound to his left foot during the operation,” he added.

According to him, a search of the recovered vehicle led to the recovery of valuables belonging to the victim, including four HP laptops, one iPhone 15 Pro Max, a bag containing seven wristwatches and some jewellery. 

“During preliminary interrogation, the suspects confessed to have received the vehicle from the syndicate that stole it in Ilorin,” he said.

The spokesman said the suspects confessed that they were conveying the vehicle towards the border, where an ECOWAS document was to be obtained to facilitate its movement across the border for sale in a foreign country.