Ondo: Police crack interstate vehicle syndicate, arrest 6 over N71m fraud

The Ondo state police command has uncovered an alleged interstate vehicle fraud syndicate and arrested six suspects in connection with the illegal sale of three heavy-duty vehicles, valued at more than ₦71 million.

The suspects are:  Adeola Kolawole, 56, Alhaji Gani Bello, 73, Oladoja Akeem, 56, Wasiu Adigun, 55, Azeez Yusuf, 49 and Ojo Mudasiru, 40,

They were all apprehended in Ibadan, Oyo state, following a police investigation that stretched across state boundaries.

Police sources stated that the case originated from a complaint by a businessman, Mr. Paul Aderemi of Ondo town, who alleged that three trucks he had purchased in 2025 had mysteriously disappeared from their storage location.

The vehicles, comprising a low-loader truck, a tipper truck, and a small truck, were reportedly worth about ₦71 million.

Investigators said the complainant had entrusted the vehicles to one of the suspects, Adeola Kolawole, under an agreed arrangement. Trouble, however, started when the owner allegedly discovered that the trucks had been sold without his knowledge or approval.

Acting on the report, detectives attached to the Fagun Division launched an intelligence-led investigation that led to the arrest of the principal suspect.

Police said Kolawole allegedly confessed during interrogation that he sold the vehicles to another suspect, Alhaji Gani Bello, in Ibadan.

The revelation reportedly opened a trail that enabled detectives to track down and arrest five other suspects believed to have participated in the transaction.

Sources within the command stated that the suspects allegedly made statements detailing their respective roles in the deal, while investigators intensified efforts to recover the missing trucks and determine whether other members of the syndicate were still at large.