Oyo Police Smash International Car Theft Ring, Recover Stolen Lexus and Stash of Stolen Jewels

Operatives from the Oyo State Police Command have dismantled a transnational criminal network that specializes in snatching luxury vehicles at gunpoint and smuggling them across West African borders for illegal resale.

The breakthrough followed an intelligence-led operation by the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) along the Ibadan–Ilorin Expressway. According to a statement issued by State Police Public Relations Officer DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, investigators exposed the syndicate after monitoring a detained robbery suspect under controlled circumstances as gang members sent him photos of targeted luxury vehicles and cross-border transport instructions.

Acting on an emergency alert from the Kwara State Police Command regarding a 2017 Lexus RX 350 SUV snatched from a woman at her residence in Ilorin, Oyo officers set up a strategic surveillance grid along the expressway. Around 4:00 a.m., officers spotted the stolen SUV, prompting the occupants to abandon the vehicle and flee into nearby bushes. Following a pursuit through the brush, police arrested two suspects 33-year-old Adewale Abiola and 36-year-old Kabiru Abobarin, alias “KB” with one suspect receiving a bullet wound to his left foot during the encounter.

A thorough search of the recovered SUV yielded a valuable haul belonging to the victim, including an iPhone 15 Pro Max, four HP laptops, seven wristwatches, and various pieces of jewelry. During preliminary interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were transporting the stolen vehicle toward the international border to acquire forged ECOWAS transit documents before selling the vehicle abroad. The Oyo State Police Command commended the inter-state collaboration with Kwara law enforcement and confirmed that active efforts are underway to hunt down remaining members of the syndicate.