By Dominic Adewole

Powder is a fine dry particles produced by grinding, crushing or disintegration of a solid substance.

It is also a cosmetic designed meant to be applied to a person’s face with brush or soft pad to give facelift or to enhance fashion.

Medicated powder however is applied to treat rashes, caused by heat on a person’s body. But for one Sunday Amos Eze, a 50-year-old, robbery suspect, who resides at No. 25 Omoku Road, Port- Harcourt, powder serves a different purpose.

The suspect uses it to drug unsuspecting victims before stealing their money, goods and other personal belongings.

Before nemesis caught up with the suspect few weeks ago, he must have applied his magic powder, obviously, laced with charms and mystical incantations on his prey, including his colleagues and got away with it.

He had used the powder to defraud many people of huge sums of money, snatch exotic cars and escaped with valuables, worth millions of naira before this last escapade that exposed him. His cup must have filled up to the brim when the charm failed him on June 28, this year, after snatching a Sienna car with Reg.

No. APP 785 DJ from one Francis Ohunyon, a 44-year-old man of No. 9 Agbamu Street, Bendel Estate, Effurun, with the aid of his magic powder.

The complainant, owner of the ill-fated Sienna car is a driver by profession. He was introduced on the fateful day to the suspect as a Naval officer by one Kingsley Uglavbe, residing in the oil city of Warri, Delta State. The driver was told that the suspect wanted to hire him from Benin, Edo State to Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Upon their discussion, the South-South Focus gathered, the phone number of the suspect was given to the complainant. He contacted the suspect and he directed him to come to Benin and pick him, which he did.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Zanna M. Ibrahim, who burst his crime, said: “On arrival at Asaba, the suspect took the complainant to the popular Asaba Shopping Mall (Shoprite) to buy some drinks and both went to one of the hotels within the metropolis to put up.

“While the suspect and complainant were in the hotel room”, the CP continued, “the suspect brought out a handkerchief already dusted with his magic powder and immediately the complainant inhaled the substance, he fell asleep. “The suspect then picked the complainant’s car key and his phone and drove his Sienna car away.

On receipt of report made by the complainant, my men at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) commenced investigations and recovered the vehicle in Port- Harcourt with the suspect, who has already affixed another plate number PBT 459 TN to the stolen vehicle.”

CP Zanna, who paraded the suspect alongside 26 other suspected kidnappers, armed robbers and cultists, including the suspected killers of one Barrister Festus Ashiedu on June 27, 2017, at Globe Supermarket, Okpanam, at the command headquarters in Asaba on August 10 and the three dismissed policemen, namely, Christopher Onyegho, Force No. F/ No.375631, Nwakem Ebonzim (F/No.413318) and Michael Chima (F/No.441254) who joined an ex-police colleague to hijack a 33,000 litres truck of petroleum product at gunpoint along the ever-busy Benin-Asaba Expressway, which the New Telegraph reported three weeks ago, assured Deltans that the command under his watchful eye would continually do its utmost best in synergy with other security agencies towards reducing crime to tolerable level in the state.

The CP explained that through prompt and discreet investigation by detectives, the killers of the lawyer, one Obed Ikenna Oluchi, 23 years, of No. 36 Chinedu Eze Street, Off Agric Road, Asaba, confessed to the crime. “From the confession of the suspect, the late lawyer was killed by his group and not by hired assassins as speculated by the public and reported by some sections of the media.

Needless to state that this once again reinforces our pleas that utmost restraint and maturity be exercised in the dissemination of information to the public so that we do not inadvertently feed them with half-baked stories.”

On interrogation, however, the Stolen car suspect said the handkerchief has been soaked in some mystical rituals and perfumelike powder to unsuspecting victims, who dose off after inhaling the magical substance. “It is not an ordinary handkerchief. It contains substances that the ordinary eye cannot see. For one to see through it, one must be possessed with some magical powers.

But I regret my action”, the suspect lamented. While the CP said the civilians in the petrol tanker’s hijack were already in prison custody, “pending when these rough ones (referring to the dismissed policemen) in the police garb will join them by Monday, next week (August 14) when they will be arraigned in court “, he said since the complainant in the stolen Sienna car was authoritative and the suspect was caught redhanded and he owned up, he would be prosecuted according to the law.

Source:- Newtelegraphonline