Police rescue suspected thieves from cold room

It was a lucky escape for eight suspected thieves who were locked up in the cold room in a fishing company at Mile 2 area of Lagos, as they were rescued by the police.
The suspects were almost frozen to death before the police arrived the scene and rescued them.

A police source told Daily Sun that on Monday, September 22 at about 2 am, the police got a distress call that some armed robbers were operating in CIC Fishing Company.
The police raced to the scene but the suspected armed robbers had already loaded two trucks with cartons of fish leaving them for the drivers.

Daily Sun gathered that one of the drivers of the trucks was arrested. However, while assessing the havoc committed by the armed robbers, a policeman heard a faint bang in the cold room.
Suspecting danger, the policeman reported to his colleagues who unanimously agreed to force the cold room open.
It was gathered that when the door was opened, the police saw six persons who were about freezing to death.

A member of the police team who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “The men were tired and had given hope of survival. We rescued and removed the ice on their bodies and took them to hospital for treatment.”
Lagos State police spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba, who paraded the suspects at his office in Ikeja, said the suspects were members of a gang that went to rob the company of 360 cartons of fish.
He said the police were at a loss on the disagreement between them and other members of the gang who locked them up to freeze to death in the cold room.

He gave the names of the suspects as Taofik, Rasheed, Rafiu, Saheed, Wasiu and Femi.
Mba said they would have been dead if not for the quick response of the police who stormed the scene after a distress call.
Speaking with one of the suspects, Taofik Salawu, he told Daily Sun that they were invited by some group of people to assist them in loading fish in two trucks.
He said: “We did not know they were armed robbers. They know us as load carriers and promised us N7,000 each.”

On why they were locked up in the cold room. He said: “I don’t know their reason but I am suspecting they did not want to pay us our agreed fee.”
Salawu, who thanked the police for rescuing them said all of them had given up hope of survival as they had knocked and called for help but help could not come. “I was freezing to death when the police forced the door open.”