Police arrest mother of two, lover for phone snatching in Abuja, recover 76 SIM cards

The FCT Police Command has arrested Bunmi Samuel, a mother of two, her boyfriend and 12 others for alleged crimes, including kidnapping, armed robbery and burglary in the territory.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Haruna Garba, on Thursday, said the suspects were arrested at different locations in the territory.

Mr Garba said various assorted weapons, vehicles, laptops, phones, and musical instruments were recovered from the suspects.

According to him, 36-year-old Ms Samuel was arrested along with her boyfriend, who specialised in snatching GSM phones from innocent commuters.

“After snatching phones, he removes the SIM cards and sells the phone, then hands over the SIM cards to his girlfriend, one Bunmi Samuel.

“The girlfriend, on her part, makes withdrawals of all monies from the accounts that are linked to the SIM cards.

“The police operatives have so far recovered 76 SIM cards, two Opay ATM cards and a golden wristwatch from the suspects,” he said.

He said the police operatives, in collaboration with the vigilante, also arrested five suspects, Bernard Francis, Felix Benjamin, Peter Benjamin, Helen Sylvester, and Hamza Haruna, over alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a minor.

According to him, the police arrested 26-year-old Kennedy Esezobor of Tudun Wada village, Lugbe, FCT, a notorious criminal and cultist with one fabricated single-barrel gun and locally produced AK-47 rifle.

He said the operatives of the anti-kidnapping unit of the command acting on actionable intelligence stormed Kabin Mongoro Forest and arrested one Mohammed Hamza while on his way to bandits camp bordering Nasarawa State.

“The suspect confessed to being an informant, a drug and food supplier to one Dogo,” he said.

Mr Garba said the police, in a swift operation between August 30 and 31, impounded six vehicles bearing both foreign and local plate numbers.

“The modus operandi of these drivers is that they use the vehicle to convey unsuspecting passengers, and midway to their destination, they dispossessed of their handsets and other valuables,” he said.

He said that police also arrested 38-year-old Mustapha Kyari, who specialised in vandalising manholes in the city.

“In a similar development, the operatives of anti-violence crime, while on patrol, arrested the duo of Gabriel Oliver and Emmanuel Ishaku.

(NAN)