Members of an armed robbery gang which used to operate at Osu-Ife axis along the expressway have confessed that they got the two guns that they were using for operations from one Iya Bose who was trading in alcoholic drinks and cigarettes.

They made the confession after their arrest by Osun State Police Command. They also revealed that they had two okada riders who were taking them to and from the spots they perpetrated the criminal act.

The gang members apprehended were identified as Chibuzor Obinna (33), Igwe Chukwudi a.k.a Bishop (41), Ogbonna Destiny Monday (28) and Nwaze Eze (40), while Olamilekan Samson a.k.a Afuye (30) and Akinolu Kola (29) were the ones to take the armed robbery suspects to designated spots of operation and return to pick after they had had their way with victims.

Exhibits recovered from them included an English pistol, a locally-made double-barrel pistol, bags of new costume, jewellery, footwear, two laptop computers, and different brands of phones.

According to the police spokeswoman in Osun, SP Yemisi Opalola, who represented the Commissioner of Police, Kehinde Longe, at the briefing, the suspects usually robbed motorists along Osu-Ife highway. Their mode of operation was to congregate at their designated spot of attack after two motorcycle riders had dropped them. They were said to possess two guns for their operations and usually targeted commercial vehicles carrying goods.

Findings by the police revealed that some of the gang members based in Lagos used to come to Osun but later decided to rent rooms in Ilesa because of its proximity to the spot where they operated.

However, their cups became full recently as they gathered in the bush to launch another attack on motorists when a hunter noticed their activities within the bushy area. Acting in collaboration, the hunters, policemen from Osu Division and a vigilante group, went after the suspects, making them to flee in different directions, with one of them, Monday, having sustained injury.

Undeterred, the police and the vigilante combed the bush but couldn’t see any of them initially. Their efforts however yielded fruits in the morning when one of the suspects, Obinna, was apprehended while trying to come out of the bush where he hid. He was found to be in possession of the guns with which they operated.

With the arrest of Obinna, the Commissioner of Police directed the Anti-Kidnapping Squad (AKS) to take over the case for a follow up, and in less than 24 hours, three other suspects who went for the operation were arrested by the operatives. Two of them, Chukwudi a.k.a Bishop and Eze, were reportedly picked from their rooms while the third gang member was found in an uncompleted building with bullet wound on his thigh. Their accomplices, the okada riders, were also arrested.

A search of their rooms revealed some of the goods stolen from vehicles that were attacked, including bags of costume jewellery estimated at N5 million. They were said to have intercepted a bus going to Kano from which they packed the jewellery. Also, two laptops, shoes, clothes and over 20 phones were recovered from them. One of them, Loco, is said to be at large.

During interrogation, the suspects revealed that the woman they were buying alcoholic drinks and cigarettes from, popularly called Iya Bose, was the one borrowing them the two guns they used to operate.