Earlyface

Press statement from RRS
A 54-year-old man, Michael Bisa, who is an expert in swindling members of the
public by disguising to be selling a mobile phone, was arrested by operatives of
the Rapid Response Squad (RRS). He was arrested along Oshodi-Apapa
Expressway over the weekend at about 17:50 hours when the police suspected
his movement on sighting him. Items such as fake phones, key soap cut to
size, shirts, sum amount of money, packet of envelopes and cut to size cartons
were recovered from him.
He is a native of Delta State and confessed to the crime. He claimed that it was
poverty that led him into the act of defrauding innocent public. He explained the
tactics that he uses to swindle his victims under false pretense, “What I usually
do is called Exchange. My prospective victims will have the mind of buying
handset from me but unknowingly to them I would have changed the real handset
to soap wrapped with cut to size carton put inside an envelope. I will engage
them in discussion after showing them real phone initially, and in the process of
bargaining for the price, I will change it with the aid of white handkerchief to fake
phone. And I will tell them to keep the phone inside their pockets immediately
that people are watching us…. He narrated further”, As soon as they left the spot,
I will change my clothe to another for uneasy recognition in case he discovers the
trick in miles away that he has been duped.”The suspect, who had fathered four
children from three different women, further explained “I was a refrigerator
technician in Uvwie LGA, Effuru in Delta State. I came to Lagos to look for
greener pastures about 15 years ago, but my expectations were dashed when
situations got so hard for me in the center of excellence. I met one guy then,
Hakeem Tijani, he is late now, and he was the one that introduced this act of
stealing to me. Since that time, about 4 years ago now, this act of stealing has
been my only source of livelihood… My first wife taught me how to smoke all
sorts of hard drugs including ****. She died sometimes ago from the
complications she suffered due to much intake of hard drug”, he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP
Joe Offor, warned the general public to be weary of individuals and shops where
they purchase their mobile phones in order not to fall victim of con men. The
suspect was charged to court immediately.