Customs Uncover $578,000 Hidden Money, Hand Over Suspect to EFCC
The Nigeria Customs Service, Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport Command, mentioned it intercepted a complete of $578,000 falsely declared by an inbound passenger coming into Nigeria from South Africa.
The Customs Space Controller accountable for the command, John Harrison, introduced this whereas addressing journalists on the command on Friday.
He defined that the suspect, Mr Okorie Sunday, got here into the nation on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, with the cash undeclared and hidden in his physique.
In line with him, the passenger, on arriving on the airport, began appearing unusual, which warranted a search by the officers on responsibility.
“The passenger was mentioned to have declared $279,000 and hid $299,000 on his physique, bringing the overall cash to $578, 000. This contravenes the edge of $10,000 authorised by legislation,” Harrison mentioned.
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Harrison added that the suspect additionally hid £100 and a counterfeit $250. The money that was handed over to the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee was collectively counted and confirmed by customs and the anti-graft company.
The CAC highlighted that such illegal behaviour undermines the integrity of the nation’s monetary system.
Harrison talked about that customs has supplied kinds on the counters of all airways to permit passengers to make the lawful declaration.
Whereas receiving the intercepted money, the appearing Zonal Director of EFCC, Ahmed Ghali, urged members of the general public to keep away from such crimes advising that any money over $10,000 must be declared as supplied by legislation.
Ghali added that such an act exposes the nation to cash laundering and will make the nation appear like a hub for illicit monetary inflows.
He mentioned the EFCC will examine and confirm if the cash is real or faux whereas taking additional investigative motion.
