The Oyo State Police Command has arrested three suspected railway vandals and recovered stolen railway tracks valued at about N200 million during an operation in the state.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Ibadan.
Ayanlade said the suspects were arrested following a timely tip-off from a vigilant resident, which enabled operatives of the command’s Monitoring Unit to act swiftly on credible intelligence.
According to him, the operatives mobilised to Gambari in the Orile-Igbon area of Oyo State, where the suspects were intercepted at about 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday while allegedly transporting the vandalised railway tracks.
He said the police recovered railway tracks estimated to be worth N200 million, along with a HOWO truck bearing registration number CAL 972 XA (Cross River State), which was allegedly used to convey the stolen materials.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the railway tracks were illegally removed from Niger State and transported into Oyo as part of a coordinated criminal operation, with Lagos State identified as the intended final destination.
The police spokesman said further investigations established that each of the arrested suspects played specific roles within the criminal syndicate.
According to him, the suspects include the truck driver contracted to transport the stolen railway tracks to Lagos, a suspected coordinator of the operation, and a temporary receiver who allegedly provided a storage facility in Ogbomoso before the materials were to be secretly moved to their final destination.
Ayanlade added that efforts were ongoing to arrest other members of the syndicate who remain at large and recover additional exhibits linked to the operation.