By Evelyn Usman

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested five members of a robbery gang that attacked a truck, diverted the goods and sold them at give-away prices.

Among the suspects was a 52-year-old blind man, who confessed to have provided a fake way bill to beat security operatives on the road.

The suspects, who were paraded alongside other robbery suspects arrested between February 19 and March 3 in the state, reportedly intercepted a container loaded with 2,400 new tyres at Kirikiri terminal last week.

Surprisingly, they confessed to have carried out the operation with the assistance of serving military personnel. One of the military personnel, whose name they simply gave as Peter, according to them, lives around Alakija.

The suspects, alongside their military counterparts, as gathered, operated in two vehicles: a pick-up van and an SUV with amber light. They reportedly intercepted the truck and ordered the truck conductor to come down, pretending to be security operatives.

Thereafter, two of them joined the truck driver whom they later dropped on the way, while they zoomed off towards the eastern part of the country.

Luck, however, ran out on them at Ogere, Ogun State, after one of them sold 20 tyres for N16,000, an action that aroused the suspicion of some Mobile policemen, who subsequently arrested them.

Speaking with Vanguard, one f them, Monday Oraya (61), who was discovered to be blind, said he provided the fake waybill to members of the gang to facilitate easy movement.