Brenda Chidinma Imo-Eze
The Ebonyi State scrap dealers, led by Chief Nwigwe Eric Ejike, on Thursday, January 25, 2024 intercepted four suspected vandals attempting to sell a burnt stolen vehicle.
The incident occured at the Regional Market, Ahia Akpa, where a member of the scrap dealers, Mr. John Azi was approached to purchase the charred vehicle conveyed in a camry car with plate number PHC378TX.
SpringNews gathered that, Mr. Azi after interrogating the suspects, discovered that the charred vehicle was stolen at Oriuzor in Ezza North LGA of Ebonyi. The union was alerted and the suspects were apprehended.
Speaking to journalists, the chairman of the association, Chief Ejike stated that scrap dealers in Ebonyi have been thoroughly sensitize and don’t engage in illegal business.
Stating “based on the orientation Ebonyi state scrap dealers have, before we buy anything we ask questions, we interview especially when it is complete, we got to find out that it is a stolen vehicle and even the vehicle they used in conveying the item we are suspecting it to be a stolen vehicle.
“So after interrogation, it was discovered that the vehicle got burnt at Ezza Oriuzor and it happened this week, the car was in a convoy and one Lexus got burnt on the road, so they went and picked up the pieces of the burnt vehcile to come and sell as scrap.
“After calling some members of Ebonyi scrap dealers, to buy we refused buying, they now invited some buyers from Enugu , who we also caught, to come and buy it.
“It was not something they could smuggle out easily, they tried to know if they can sell it here but the union caught them. This is to prove to the State at large that we the registered members, we don’t buy stolen properties, either private property or government belongings.” He said.
One of the suspects,Wisdom Ifesinachi a dry cleaner from Oriuzor in Ezza North, Ebonyi State, confessed to being part of the scheme. He revealed that they dismantled the burnt vehicle at Oriuzor, and took it to scrap dealers in Ebonyi but it was rejected twice and decided to sell it to a scrap dealer in Enugu.
“We loosened the part, we took it to Chukwuebuka, who is into mechanic , because he knows those into scrap and could help us connect them. The first day, we took it to the first shop, second shop and they all rejected it. So we kept the scrap in his car, it was that my guy that called these people saying that there is scrap that they would buy, so they came from Enugu and bought it.
“We have already sold it to them and have gone, when these people called us back to have a drink, that is how we were arrested.”
The suspected scrap buyers who came from Enugu, Chinonso and Daniel Chima explained that they received a call about the scrap business, initially dismissing it as a waste of transport.
However, they were convinced to travel, only to discover the nature of the goods they were dealing with. They disclosed that they bought the vehicle for ₦50,000 but were apprehended by the union while trying to resell the charred vehicle at the regional market in Ebonyi.
Stating “after we bought it, we discovered that taking this load would be extra expenses, we stopped at sperando looking for where to sell the item, we got to one of the shops selling scrap and we told him, what we wanted to sell, so we called them to bring the item, so that was how we brought it.”
Chukwuebuka Nwankwo, a mechanic who is also involved in the alleged theft, narrated that he was approached to transport the goods in his motor.
Unaware of the stolen nature of the items, he received ₦9,500 for his services.
The suspects were later handed over to the police by the union for further investigation.