A 45-year-old man was detained by the Enugu State Police Command for allegedly stealing 18 sacks of rice from a businessman to distribute to the underprivileged.
Bags of rice?
According to reports, on February 14, 2024, Valentine’s Day, the suspect, Nnamani Joseph, went to the address of a church (name withheld) in the Ogui suburb of Enugu. From there, he allegedly called a businessman (names withheld) and asked for eighteen bags of 25 kg of rice, valued at N400,000, on the phone, claiming that he wanted to donate the rice to the church.
The businessman, who reportedly believed him, gave the rice and blindly followed the suspect to the bank to obtain his payment by bank transfer, according to the police.
It was learned that the businessman had surreptitiously left the bank, returned to the church, and fled with the rice sacks to an unidentified location while he was waiting for the suspect to complete the payment in the banking hall.
The man went straight to the Ogui Division police and reported the event.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the event to our correspondent on Monday. He stated that the suspect was apprehended on February 20, 2024, in Emene, where he had re-bagged and sold ten bags at the Orie Emene Market, Enugu.
Ndukwe stated, “One Nnamani Joseph’m’, 45, would have successfully defrauded a businessman of 18 bags of rice valued at approximately N400,000.00, under the guise of buying and using the rice for charity at a church, but for the prompt response of police operatives serving in the Ogui Police Division of Enugu State Command.
Nevertheless, the culprit was unable to flee or hide for very long since, after receiving the complaint, police officers launched an intelligence-driven investigation that resulted in his arrest on February 20, 2024, in Emene, Enugu.
“After he re-bagged and sold the remaining bags at Oye Emene Market, Enugu, eight of the eighteen, twenty-five-kg bags of rice were recovered from him.”
When the investigations are finished, Ndukwe said the suspect and his accomplices will be put on trial.
However, he cautioned the people of Enugu, especially the businesswomen and men, to always be aware of security in order to avoid becoming victims of scammers.
