A Dubai-bound passenger, Ishaq Abubakar, who was arrested with 2886 Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and four Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards concealed inside cartons of noodles has been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
The suspect with the passport number A08333717 was arrested by the men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on his was to Dubai, the United Arab Emirate on August 22, 2020, via the Emirates evacuation flight.
The Deputy Controller, Enforcement of rge NCS, Abdulmumin Bako, on Thursday, at a media briefing of the handling over the suspect in Lagos, said the suspect was arrested at the Departure Hall of the airport.
Bako, representing the Customs Area Comptroller, A. Ma’aji, said, “Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Departure Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, on August 22, 2020, intercepted the suspect with 2,886 ATM cards and four SIM cards, which he carefully concealed in packs of noodles.
“The suspect, who claimed to have come from Kano to travel to Dubai aboard the Emirates evacuation flight, was seen with one Mr Musliu, who was assigned to facilitate his movement through the airport checks, but the diligence of our officers, who insisted on conducting a physical examination, revealed the concealment.”
AbdulRasheed Bawa, who was representing the Lagos Zonal Head of the EFCC to receive the suspect, said the ATM Cards could be used for money laundering or foreign exchange fraud, noting that everyone involved in the conspiracy would be arrested and prosecuted by the commission.
He said, “On behalf of the commission and the acting Chairman, Mr Muhammed Umar, we have taken over Ishaq Abubakar and I can assure you that we are going to investigate the matter thoroughly and unveil everybody involved in the syndicate.
“There are several possibilities; there is an element of conspiracy, foreign exchange malpractices and money laundering and indeed, banks and bankers are involved.”
