The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has apprehended six suspected members of a notorious “one-chance” syndicate operating beneath the Ijora Bridge corridor of Lagos,

The special adviser to the governor on transportation, Sola Giwa, said this in a statement on Friday in Lagos.

“The arrest, which took place on Thursday, October 23, was effected during a joint inter-agency enforcement exercise targeted at dismantling illegal garages and parks operated by commercial transporters.

“It was also aimed at the removal of unauthorised shanties and criminal hideouts around Apapa Road, Costain, and Ijora under bridge.

“It yielded substantial recoveries.

“The confiscated items include 77 assorted mobile phones, 2 Point of Sales machines, multiple wristwatches, and other personal effects believed to have been forcibly taken from unsuspecting commuters and pedestrians,” he said.

Mr Giwa, who led the operation, noted that his team comprised enforcement operatives drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, Mobile Police (MOPOL), Lagos State Task Force, Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), and the Nigerian Army.

He said that preliminary investigations revealed that the Ijora under-bridge axis had long served as a criminal enclave, accommodating miscreants.

According to him, it accommodated illegal traders and “one-chance” syndicates who specialise in orchestrated theft, violent assaults, and dispossession of innocent citizens.

He added that the area had also evolved into a clandestine storage hub for stolen valuables and contraband goods.

“During the operation, enforcement personnel also discovered and confiscated several kegs of adulterated diesel and over 150 packs of expired plantain chips and Cheese Balls.

“These items were being hoarded under unsanitary conditions, posing grave threats to public health and the environment.

“In addition, the joint task team successfully demolished over 120 illegal shanties, including structures erected along the perimeter fence of St. Peter’s Catholic Nursery and Primary School, Apapa Road, thereby reclaiming the area’s urban integrity and restoring its aesthetic order,” he said.

Mr Giwa reaffirmed the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s zero-tolerance policy towards environmental infractions, the unlawful occupation of public infrastructure, and the proliferation of criminal enclaves across Lagos.

He noted that the clean-up and arrests were integral components of the government’s holistic strategy to ensure a safer, cleaner, and more habitable metropolis.

The general manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, commended the professional synergy among all participating enforcement agencies.

He described the exercise as a demonstration of inter-agency cooperation at its best.

Mr Bajare-Oki reiterated that LASTMA’s mandate transcends conventional traffic management, extending into public safety, environmental protection and the safeguarding of transport corridors from criminal encroachment.

He urged residents to remain vigilant, report suspicious activities promptly, and cooperate with ongoing government efforts to sanitise and secure the city’s transport infrastructure.

He said the case of the ‘one-chance’ syndicate apprehended would be transferred to the appropriate law enforcement authorities for further investigation and prosecution in accordance with the law.

(NAN)