Range Rover worth £100,000 stolen in UK intercepted on its way to Africa
A Range Rover that was worth £100,000 belonging to a couple, Anthony and Danielle Wilson living in Essex, near Bishop’s Stortford, the United Kingdom was stolen and tracked to Tilbury port en route to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The posh car vanished in the garage before the couple woke up on a fateful morning in July 2022, but was found loaded on a container at the UK port.
According to BBC on Friday, it took thieves just 63 seconds to steal The Wilsons’ Range Rover Sport from their gated home.
The theft was caught on the family’s CCTV system and it showed two people involved – one stealing the car and another driving the vehicle they arrived in.
“You can see one of them creeping up the drive,” said Mrs Wilson.
“He’s literally leaning into my car, doing something, switched the interior light off, and then trundled it down the drive.”
The couple thought they might have been followed by the thieves for some time before the car was taken.
“Police had said there was a chance that I’d been followed because they’d obviously got in it without the keys, so maybe they cloned the key or found a way to get into it when I’d been out and about, and I only ever go anywhere with my little toddler so it worried me then.
“I just found it really scary and the more I thought about it, the worse it got.”
The husband, in his own reaction, said, “When you watch the CCTV, it’s almost incredible that somebody walks up to the car, and 63 seconds later is driving an expensive car down the driveway having never seen the keys in their life.”
The report disclosed that the car’s tracking system alerted police when it got out of range of the keys, which were still with the Wilsons.
Officers arrived at the Wilsons’ home to investigate shortly after the car was learned missing from the driveway.
About a month after the car was stolen in July, it was discovered wedged inside a container at the Port of Tilbury, in Essex.
It was thought it was one of the increasing cases of stolen vehicles ordered by organised criminals with international connections.
Essex Police’s Stolen Vehicle Intelligence Unit said such theft is on the rise in the UK. In 2021, the three-strong unit recovered about 480 cars. In 2022, more than 600 cars were retrieved.
Renato Schipani, a criminal intelligence officer focusing on stolen vehicles with Interpol said cars stolen in the UK often end up in African countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Sudan because of the demand for right-hand drive vehicles.
The cars sent to these countries are nearly always large, luxury SUVs, like the Wilsons’ Range Rover, Schipani added.
West Africa, on the other hand, was the key “hub” for cars stolen from North America and Western Europe because of the demand for left-hand drives.
He said the levels of theft had increased since the Covid pandemic, with more and more vehicles being stolen and exported to Africa amid the rising cost of living.
Speaking at the 38th Anti-Corruption Situation Room in Abuja, Olukoyede detailed how ministers, directors, and other prominent figures from various government agencies sent him substantial gifts, including cheques and drafts.
At the time, Olukoyede was serving as the Secretary of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Recalling the moment he received these offers, he explained that upon returning to his family home in Ekiti State before the funeral, his gatekeeper handed him the cheques.
After reviewing the documents, Olukoyede made the decision to return the gifts, underscoring his commitment to integrity even during a personal loss.
The EFCC chairman narrated, “I lost my mother in the year 2019 (in Ekiti State). We went for the funeral. I was the secretary of the EFCC then. People came. So I went to my place a day before the funeral service.
“By the time I got to my small compound, which I built several years ago before I joined the EFCC, I saw about 17 cows in my compound, including pregnant ones.
“When I got home, my gate man presented a box to me and inside it, I saw so many cheques and drafts from ministers, permanent secretaries, directors, DGs of agencies, etc.
“And so, I went in and showed it to my wife. She said, ‘Praise God’. I said, ‘Praise God for what?’ By the time we put all the cheques together, it counted close to N500m.
“I did the burial in September 2019. By July 2020, I was under investigation. Now, assuming all those cheques were paid into my account as traditional gifts and some of the MDAs that we were investigating in the EFCC, some of their directors and their DGs and their ministers sent cheques to me.
“Ordinarily, I mean for burial, some gave me one million, N20m and all of that. Even though that would not have influenced my decision if I was in a position to determine what would happen to their investigations, how would I have explained before a panel that they saw cheques paid into my account?”
News
Another increase coming as FG plans to standardise electricity tariffs for band B, C customers
Another increase coming as FG plans to standardise electricity tariffs for band B, C customers
The Federal Government is set to implement new measures aimed at standardizing electricity tariffs across the country to eliminate discrepancies in the current billing system and attract further investments into the power sector.
This announcement was made by Chief Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, who highlighted the need for a more equitable pricing structure.
Currently, there is a significant difference in electricity rates between different customer bands. Consumers in Band B, who typically receive 17 to 18 hours of electricity supply daily, are charged N63 per kilowatt-hour.
However, those in Band A, who receive just two more hours of supply, pay a steep N209 per kilowatt-hour.
Adelabu criticised this disparity as “unfair” and called for a comprehensive overhaul of the tariff system. He emphasized that regularizing the rates would ensure a more balanced pricing model, which could, in turn, stimulate investment and create a more sustainable energy market.
“We will look at the tariff again. I am not saying that we’re going to increase the tariff before I am misquoted.
“We are going to look at it and see how we can improve upon our modest achievement of last year, not only to ensure that we grow the sector that we need, but also to ensure that we can invest more in revamping all these dilapidated infrastructures,” he said.
The minister further explained that the transition to Band A should have progressed more quickly, but it became evident that the Distribution Companies (DisCos) have been reluctant to invest in the sector, hindering the process.
“A lot of investment is required for us to achieve an accelerated migration of lower-band customers into Band A. It is taking a lot of time,” he said.
The government is working on restructuring the tariff bands to narrow the significant gap between them, with a proposed new system that will include Bands A, B, and C.
“The gap between the Band A tariffs and Bands B, C, D, and E is just too wide,” he said. “We believe it’s not fair. It is not just, and we must be able to carry out some level of regularisation.”
News
JUST IN; Obasa claims Meranda resigns as Lagos State Assembly Speaker
JUST IN; Obasa claims Meranda resigns as Lagos State Assembly Speaker
Sacked Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday claimed that his successor, Mojisola Meranda, had resigned as leader of the parliament.
Obasa made this assertion during an interview on Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today.
The lawmaker alleged that Meranda resigned during a peace meeting held at the Lagos House in Marina last weekend.
According to him: “At the meeting held in Marina, which was attended by all party leaders, it was made clear—hopefully in the presence of all members—that Meranda herself announced her resignation. She stated that she had stepped down.
“Now, when someone resigns from office, the associated paraphernalia is taken away. So, the question arises: Have you also resigned? Because we understand that part of the arrangement was for you to step down as well.
“Let them present the resignation letter. And if I were to resign, would I still be here? I’m sure you would still address me as Speaker, even though we’ve never had a conversation before.”