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A member of a notorious robbery syndicate terrorising the people of Oyo town and its neighbourhood in Oyo State, has paid the supreme price with his life in an encounter with the men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, Oyo Zone.

The cars with stolen goats

CRIME DIGEST learnt that the gang, which specialised in stealing goats, ran into trouble in the ancient town in the wee hours of February 1, 2011.

According to the police, the gang had a network of members within Oyo town and outside. The officer-in-charge of the Oyo SARS, Mr. Olusola Aremu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, explained that the suspects moved from house to house to lure local goats with corn and beans that had been soaked in salt and water solution.

The corn with salt solution, CRIME DIGEST was told, weaken the goats and prevent them from bleating while they were being taken away.

But things turned awry for the gang when they ran into a police patrol team in Oyo town around 2 am.

Aremu said, "The police saw three men in the vehicle all appearing very rough. The police followed their vehicle to track them down. At first, when the police waved them down, the robbers did not obey but tried to escape by increasing their speed. They were, however, given a chase.

"They bumped into a deep pothole and lost one of their tyres. But before the police got to the vehicle, the syndicate abandoned their vehicle and fled into a nearby bush."

CRIME DIGEST gathered that some goats were recovered from the grey Nissan Primera marked BG 372 RSH. The patrol team was said to have taken the vehicle to the station, while some of the detectives laid in an ambush...

"The patrol team came back to the scene in an unmarked vehicle. Shortly after they returned, they noticed another Nissan Primera saloon car (blue colour) with three occupants also looking very rough in it. Immediately the suspects noticed that the police were approaching, they sped off. The police gave them a chase up to Sasa area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital. Unfortunately, the robbers also bumped into a ditch and lost one of their tyres," a police source said.

In the encounter, they reportedly opened fire on the police patrol team. In the shoot-out between the suspects and the police, one of the robbers fell to police bullets, while the other gang members fled before the police got to the vehicle.

Aremu said items recovered from the vehicle included 40 goats (all of them were she-goats) with six of them dead, while 34 goats were still alive.

He added that the goats, most of which were pregnant, had their mouths tied with masking tape.

Also recovered from the vehicle, with registration number Lagos DL 135 GGE, were a locally-made pistol, live cartridges and some Indian hemp.

The police said they noticed that the bandits on board the vehicle were strangers because it appeared that they were not conversant with the terrain.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Commend, Mr. Olatunji Ajimuda, who confirmed the incident, said some of the owners of the goats had started coming forward with evidence to claim them.