I have stolen over 1, 200 phones from Lagos commuters – Suspect

A phone thief arrested by the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command has confessed that he has stolen over 1,200 from Lagos commuters since he joined pickpocket gang three years ago.

The suspect, Femi Solomon, from Ogun State was arrested last Thursday by the operatives in Iyana Oworo, Lagos, after stealing a Samsung phone from a commuter in a bus stampede at the bus stop.

Solomon, an auto technician, noted that he joined pickpocket gang in Obalende, where he was ushering people to buy used cloth popularly called ‘Okrika.

According to him, one of his customers, Ismaila, who was about 50 years old, introduced him to pickpocket.

He said, “I noticed he was coming to Obalende finely dressed with so much money. I told him I was looking for a better job opportunity, and he assured me that he was going to assist me with one. And when he was going to introduce me to one, he said I should be following him, while I learn from him.

“Throughout the six months I followed him, we could pick six to eight phones and wallets from people without them knowing. He kept everything to himself, but at the end of the day, he would give me between N4,000 to N6,000 depending on his wish.”

He continued: “On August 2016, I started on my own. I wasn’t bold enough to pickpocket during the day. Besides, I was still a “green horn” and inexperienced. So I devised to go out from evening since nobody pickpockets at night.

“In my rough estimate, I would have stolen 1200 phones both by standing in Lagos bus stops and inside commercial buses.”

He said the routes he usually plied were Ajegunle, Iyana Oworo to Ketu, Ketu to Ojota and Oshodi to Mile 2.

“I used to operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I also operate at night parties and where there are overnight events,” he stated.