Police uncover N1b vehicle fraud in Lagos, recover exotic cars from Abuja, others

Lagos State Police Command has uncovered a vehicle fraud syndicate allegedly responsible for defrauding car dealers of more than N1 billion through a series of coordinated scams involving exotic vehicles.

Police said investigations into three related cases led to the recovery of several vehicles that had been transported from Lagos to Abuja and other parts of the country and sold to unsuspecting buyers.

Speaking at the Command Headquarters in Ikeja on Tuesday, the Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, disclosed that detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, launched an investigation following complaints from multiple vehicle dealers.

According to him, the investigations traced the operations to a syndicate allegedly headed by a suspect identified as Otunba, who remains at large.

The police identified Fatai Balogun, popularly known as “Eleku,” as a principal suspect, while Muritala, Bashiru, Segun and Otunba were also linked to the criminal network.

CP Fatai explained that the first case involved Muritala, who allegedly obtained vehicles from dealers under the pretext of paying after resale. During interrogation, Muritala reportedly implicated Balogun, who admitted participating in the transactions and handing the vehicles over to Otunba.

Further investigations reportedly linked Balogun to 12 exotic vehicles fraudulently obtained from various dealers.

Intelligence-led operations, aided by the AUTOREG vehicle tracking platform, led to the recovery of a 2010 Toyota RAV4 and 2007 and 2017 Toyota Highlander SUVs.

The police commissioner said the second case stemmed from complaints by three victims who accused Balogun, Otunba and other suspects of fraudulently acquiring seven vehicles valued at approximately N700 million.

Investigators alleged that the suspects deceived dealers by claiming the vehicles were meant for prominent politicians in Abuja and issued post-dated cheques that were later dishonoured.

“Balogun confessed to the offences and admitted selling the vehicles to different buyers. Detectives subsequently recovered a 2020 Toyota Hiace bus and a 2018 Ford Edge SUV,” Fatai said.

In the third case, Balogun, Bashiru and other suspects allegedly acquired 10 Toyota Hiace buses worth N320 million after claiming they were acting on Otunba’s instructions. Police said a post-dated cheque issued for the transaction was returned due to insufficient funds.

Eight of the buses were later recovered in damaged condition, while two buses valued at N56.5 million remain unaccounted for.

According to investigators, the suspects claimed the vehicles were procured on behalf of Otunba for political campaign activities.

CP Fatai stated that a comparative analysis of the three cases revealed a common operational pattern, indicating that they were carried out by the same criminal syndicate.

He alleged that the group targeted reputable car dealers, used dud or post-dated cheques to obtain vehicles, transferred them rapidly to third parties and concealed the identities of the principal beneficiaries through intermediaries.

The command said it has so far recovered a 2010 Toyota RAV4, 2007 and 2017 Toyota Highlander SUVs, two 2016 Toyota Hiace buses, a 2020 Toyota Hiace bus and a 2018 Ford Edge SUV.

Police uncover N1b vehicle fraud in Lagos, recover exotic cars from Abuja, others