The Oyo State Police Command has arrested four suspected members of an alleged interstate armed robbery and truck-hijacking syndicate, recovering a white-coloured Sino Howo truck allegedly stolen from its owner.
The Command’s spokesman, Ayanlade Olayinka, said the suspects were part of a criminal network allegedly involved in hijacking, diverting, and stealing trucks from unsuspecting drivers in Oyo State and neighbouring states before moving the vehicles to criminal receivers in Kwara State.
According to the police, the breakthrough followed actionable intelligence and a tip-off that the suspected gang was planning to strike on August 24, 2026.
Acting on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit subsequently mounted an intelligence-led stop-and-search operation along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
During the operation, the police intercepted the white Sino Howo truck and arrested two suspects identified as Ojedokun Olakunle Isaac, said to be the motor boy attached to the truck’s driver, and his alleged accomplice, Ajuwon Ismail.
The police said that by the time the vehicle was intercepted, its back body, also known as the bucket, had been removed, while the truck was allegedly being driven towards the Ogbomoso/Ilorin axis for onward delivery and sale to a suspected criminal receiver.
During interrogation, Ojedokun allegedly confessed to masterminding the hijacking of the truck from his master along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at about 11 p.m. on August 24, 2026.
The information obtained from the suspects reportedly led investigators to two other alleged members of the syndicate, identified as Adekunle Sunday and Rasheed Music, who were subsequently arrested.
Police investigations, according to the Command, revealed that Adekunle allegedly served as the syndicate’s designated driver whenever a truck was hijacked, helping to drive the stolen vehicles to their alleged receivers.
Rasheed, on the other hand, was said to specialise in removing vehicle trackers and other electronic devices used in identifying and locating the trucks, allegedly making it difficult for security operatives and owners to trace or recover the vehicles.
The police said efforts were ongoing to recover the detached back body of the Sino Howo truck and arrest other suspected members of the syndicate who remain at large.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, CP Abimbola Olugbenga, commended members of the public for providing what he described as timely and credible information that contributed to the success of the operation.
He reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and the continued dismantling of criminal networks across the state, while urging residents to continue providing actionable security information to law enforcement agencies.
