Police arrest three, recover seven stolen motorcycles in Ekiti

The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested three suspected members of a motorcycle theft syndicate and recovered seven motorcycles believed to have been stolen in different parts of the state.

The suspects, identified as Mustapha Lekan, 38, from Osun State, Blessing Adebiyi and Ogunbayo Adebiyi, were arrested in separate operations by operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Sunday Abutu, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

According to him, the operation followed intelligence that a red Bajaj motorcycle had been stolen around the Olaoluwa Muslim Grammar School area of Ado-Ekiti on Saturday, with the suspect fleeing towards the Ilawe Road axis.

Abutu said officers on stop-and-search duty along Ilawe Road intercepted the suspect after a chase and recovered the stolen motorcycle.

“The suspect was identified as Mustapha Lekan, a 38-year-old from Osun State. During interrogation, he confessed to stealing two motorcycles within Ado-Ekiti,” he said.

He added that further investigation led detectives to Ilogbo-Ekiti and Ido-Ekiti, where two suspected receivers of stolen motorcycles, Blessing Adebiyi and Ogunbayo Adebiyi, were arrested.

“The operatives also recovered six additional motorcycles suspected to have been stolen,” Abutu said.

He noted that investigations were ongoing to identify the owners of the recovered motorcycles and apprehend other members of the suspected criminal network.

The police spokesperson said the suspects would be charged in court upon the conclusion of investigations.

Abutu added that the Commissioner of Police, Michael Falade, commended the operatives for the successful operation and reaffirmed the command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing.

He also urged residents to continue providing timely and credible information to assist the police in tackling crime across the state.