The Rapid Response Squad in Lagos State on Thursday said it has arrested five suspected teenage traffic robbers in Oshodi area of the state.
The RRS said it also arrested 37 miscreants after raiding black spots in the metropolis.
The five teenage robbers were arrested at about 9pm on Wednesday based on a tip-off from one Okechukwu Abes.
Abes gave the information after her handbag was snatched at at Oshodi Under-Bridge.
The bag contained her mobile phone and other valuables.
The suspects are Ajala Lateef, 16; Salami Sodiq, 15; Raji Kazeem, 19; Bashiru Adeyemi, 19; and Ikechukwu Ukueje, 15.
Lateef, a secondary school dropout from Isale-Eko, said their ring leader, Taiye, still at large, pretended to be a passenger and snatched Abes handbag while she was boarding a commercial bus.
Lateef said: “I know Taiye very well.
“He used to sleep in Oko-Mola at Oshodi Under-Bridge.
“I have seen him on different occasions dispossessing passersby in Oshodi of their bags, phones and other belonging.
“Most times, we pretend as passengers to rob people.”
The Commander of the RRS, Olatunji Disu, said his team would continue to work round the clock to make Lagos a safe haven.
Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, said the police have been charged by the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, and Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, to rid the state of all forms of crime.
He called on Lagosians to assist the police by supplying information that would help the police to curb crime and track down criminals, adding that perpetrators of crime live among us.
The suspects have been transferred to the State Investigation and Intelligence Bureau, Ikeja.
