The police have arrested a 30-year-old businessman, Ifeanyi Okafor, for allegedly breaking into his Chinese counterpart’s shop at the International Trade Fair Complex, Lagos State, to steal shoes worth millions of naira.
Okafor came up with the plan of breaking into the Chinese’s shop to steal shoes after he heard that the Chinese was about to burn the shoes and move back to his country.
He said: “We are business partners in the market. The Chinese traders were the one who usually supply us the shoes after which we resell to the retailers. I was shocked when they started selling their shoes to those that used to buy from us.
Those of us, who buy from them got angry and confronted; we urged them to stop selling the shoes in that way because it would affect our business, but they didn’t listen. When we confronted the Chinese traders, they promised to stop selling to the retailers.” Okafor said: “After we pleaded with the Chinese to stop spoiling business for us, they wouldn’t listen. We started threatening to deal with them.
They were scared that we might kill them and thus decided to burn the remaining shoes in their shop and return to their country. Immediately I got wind of that information, I informed a colleague of mine, Okonkwo Nnamdi, and we planned how to burgle their shop at night.”Okafor heard the Chinese traders’ statement, he thought it would be a smooth move for him to quickly sneak into the Chinese men’s shop and help himself to some of the shoes before they were burnt.
He, however, realised that in order to gain access into the foreigners’ shop, which was farther from where his own shop was located, he would need a partner. He decided to divulge his plan to a friend and one of the security guards attached to the Chinese’s shop unit.
Okafor and his partners in crime were attempting to cut through the locks of the Chinese’s shop when policemen appeared from nowhere and arrested them. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), in charge of Trade Fair Police Station, explained that he deployed his Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) and other policemen to the scene of the crime, after he received an anonymous tip-off from a concerned Nigerian. After Okafor was arrested, police recovered 39 cartons of shoes from him.
The police said: “During interrogation, it was discovered that Okafor was a failed trader within the complex. He went bankrupt and sold his shop. He decided to take to stealing to launch himself back to business.” According to Nnamdi, to be able to get access into the Chinese’s shop, they needed the assistance of a security guard. They contacted a guard in the market called Tupac. Nnamdi said: “Exactly around 12a.m, we entered into market.
The security guard led us to the Chinese’s shop. We were about cutting the locks when policemen suddenly appeared and arrested us. The security guard escaped. I don’t have goods in my shop anymore.
That was why I decided to accompany my friend to the steal the shoes, so that we could both restock our shops and get back into business.” The Lagos State Commissioner of Police Lagos State, Mr. Edgal Imohimi, said the suspects were caught right in the act of carting away the goods, which were worth millions of naira.
