The Niger state police command have arrested four men in connection with the theft of hundreds of goats in the state.
The suspects who claim to have stolen over 500 goats around parts of Minna, were apprehended on Monday in the Kpakungu-Soje area, a suburb of Minna, which resulted in their arrest.
According to sources, the syndicate have been in the business of allegedly conspiring and stealing goats from their owners for over five years.
The syndicate was nabbed by the police at about 1pm last week after information from credible sources revealed their activities.
State Public Relations Officer, PRO, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the arrest and revealed that the suspects were intercepted in a vehicle, a Honda Civic, usually used for whisking the animals away from crime scenes around the Shiroro Hotel area of the town.
He explained that during interrogation, the suspects claimed that goats stolen from their owners were usually sold between N10,000 to N15,000, depending on the size, to butchers in Maitumbi and Tunga areas of Minna.
The suspects include Shehu Buhari 25yrs , Musa Idris 40yrs both of Barkin-Sale, Minna and Idrisu Aliyu (Dagrin) 22yrs of Kaffintela, Minna, while the fourth member is currently at large.
They also claimed they have been committing the crime in Minna as their main source of survival for the past five years and have so far stolen over 500 goats at different locations in Minna.
”Idris Dagrin’s vehicle, Honda Civic, is always being used to convey the animals”, he said.
Following their confession, the Police PRO revealed that two receivers, including one Murtala Dan-Azumi of Tunga was arrested while efforts are ongoing to apprehend Hussaini Yahaya, Labaran Hussaini.
The cases are under investigation and all suspects will be arraigned in court for prosecution immediately after the investigation.
