“I have stolen 1,200 phones” – Suspected pickpocket arrested in Lagos

A notorious pickpocket, Femi Solomon, has been arrested in the Iyana-Oworo area of Lagos by the police.

He was caught after allegedly stealing a Samsung phone from a commuter in a bus stampede at the bus stop.

Solomon allegedly engages in snatching victims’ phones and had snatched no fewer than 1200 mobile devices.

The suspect, an auto technician, told the police that he joined the pickpocket gang in Obalende, where he was ushering people to buy used cloth popularly called “Okrika”.

According to him, one of his customers identified simply as Ismaila introduced him to the business.

In his narration, the suspect said; “I told him I was looking for a better job opportunity and he assured me that he was going to assist me with one. When he was going to introduced me to one, he said I should be following him, while I learn from him.

“I was following from behind and monitoring what he was doing. We were moving from one bus stop in Lagos to the other from morning till evening. He was stealing phones and wallets from passengers inside bus and at bus stops.

“Throughout the six months I followed him, we could pick six to eight phones and wallets from people without them knowing. He kept everything to himself but at the end of the day, he would give me between N4,000 to N6,000 depending on his wish.

See Also

Naira slips back above ₦1,400/$; and here’s why it may not bounce back quickly

“In August 2016, I started on my own. I wasn’t bold enough to steal during the day so I devised the means to go out from evening since nobody pickpocket at night. I start operation at 6:00 p.m and I end at 9:00 p.m. My target is between 4 to 5 mobile phones in a day. Once am able to hit that figure, I stop operation and I retire. I sell phones to a friend based in Lagos Island.

“In my rough estimation, I would have stolen 1200 phones both by standing in Lagos bus stops and inside commercial buses.

“The routes I normally go to are Ajegunle, Iyana Oworo to Ketu, Ketu to Ojota and Oshodi to Mile 2. I operate on Monday, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I also operate at night parties and where there are overnight events.”

State police spokesperson, Chike Oti added that four mobile phones were recovered from Solomon and he has been transferred to the SCID, Yaba, for further investigations.