Lebanese Woman,others use EFCC vests for robbery [SEE PHOTO]

A 32-year-old Lebanese, Amira Abdallahi, along
with five other suspects, have been arrested by
the police for alleged robberies and frauds
totalling N20m in different parts of Lagos and
Abuja.
The suspects ─ Princewill Eze, 55; Daniel
Okpara, 30; Paul Irior, 37; Bassey Ekpenyong,
39; Royal Nwabuike, 32; and the Lebanese ─
disguised as officials of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, and wore the
commission’s branded vests.
It was gathered that they allegedly defrauded
some Bureau de Change outlets in Lagos with
the vests.
Our correspondent learnt that Eze, who is said
to be the gang leader, was arrested by men of
the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the state
command on February 27 in the VGC, Ajah area
of Lagos.
Eze’s confessions, it was gathered, led to the
arrest of the Lebanese woman and other gang
members.
Punch reports that, Items said to have been
recovered from the gang included six Toyota
vehicles, one single-barrelled pistol with four
cartridges and a Bryco pistol with six rounds of
5.56mm ammunition.The police also recovered
N4m and $13, 000 from the gang.
During a parade on Wednesday, Abdallahi,
whose father is a Lebanese and mother from
Ishan, Edo State, said she joined the gang in
2014, and had done six deals with them where
she realised about N10m.
She said, “I was born in Nigeria and I grew
up in Lagos. I stay in Lekki area with my
family. I am married with five daughters. The
first money I got from the deals was $5,000. I
could not stop because the money was
tempting.
“I was formerly doing interior decorations
work. That was how I met Eze, who is
nicknamed Senator. I did some interior
design jobs for him in a hotel he owned. That
was around March 2014.“I had done about
six deals with the gang. My role is just to talk
on phone with our would-be victims. They
think I am a foreigner, and they are willing to
trust us. I have made about N10m so far, but
all the accounts have been drained now. I
handed everything over to the police.”
Eze, the gang leader, from Nkanu, Enugu State,
said,
“Before we rob our victims, we usually tell
them that we want to purchase dollars, but we
know most of them do not have an operating
licence. So, we will pretend to be officials of
the EFCC, and we will harass them for not
having a licence. Later, we will ask them to
pay a fine.
“They will bring the money to us in
convenient places like hotels and banks. I
was formerly a businessman. I also run a
hotel. It is about five years now that we
started this project. I was arrested by the
police four years ago for a similar issue, but I
was granted bail by the court.
The police walkie-talkie and other gadgets
recovered from me were obtained during the
Anambra elections. I was not into politics, but
I was part of that election.”
The state Commissioner of Police, Kayode
Aderanti, said the command would continue to
ensure that criminals did not have a hideout in
Lagos, adding that efforts were ongoing to get
the remaining gang member.
He said,
“We have recovered several items which the
suspects procured with the proceeds of their
robbery escapades. Eze, the ring leader, built
a hotel in Edo, while other members also
have houses in Delta, Ogun and Lagos
states.Serious efforts are on to arrest the only
gang member at large.The command assures
residents of Lagos that it always has
arrangements to ensure safety of lives and
property.”