5 ex-convicts arrested for stealing rail track ballasts
Five persons were at the weekend arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad for stealing 28 iron ballasts meant for rail lines in some parts of Lagos metropolis.
The five suspects, who said they were scrap metal dealers, were intercepted inside a bus with the registration number JJJ 929 EL by the operatives at 1:15am on Friday in Agege, Lagos State.
The suspects - Hameed Atairu (25), Akeem Muritala (23), Lawal Muritala (25), Tunde Olaunji (27) and the driver of the bus, Sarafa Ishola (38) - in their statements to the police said an official of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) sold the iron to them.
However, preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the iron ballasts were stolen from where they were kept.
Further investigations revealed that the iron ballasts were meant for the basement of rail lines.
The suspects, three of whom are exconvicts, said, as scrap metal dealers, they raised N35,000 among themselves to pay for the iron ballasts.
Commenting, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, confirmed the arrest of the five suspects, adding that they have been transferred, along with the exhibits recovered from them, to the state Criminal Investigation Department, Panti for further investigation.