By Emeka OKafor
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 52-year-old man with $4.7 million counterfeit cash in Abaji area of Abuja.
The fake dollars which were smuggled from Lagos into the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were aimed to be injected into Nigeria’s economy.
This was contained in a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
Babafemi disclosed that the arrest of the suspect followed an intelligence by operatives in the early hours of Friday 18th February, 2022.
Babafemi said, “A controlled delivery of the parceled counterfeit US dollars totalling $4, 760, 000 led to the arrest of a principal suspect, 52-year-old Abdulmumini Maikasuwa.
“The seizure followed intelligence received by the FCT Command of the Agency detailing the movement of the cash and the vehicle conveying it. Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has directed that both the cash and the suspect in custody be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.”
He also disclosed that barely three weeks after a nursing mother, Mrs. Rashidat Adebayo, 38, was arrested and granted administrative bail for dealing in illicit drugs in Kwara State, she had been rearrested for similar crime.
The agency’s spokesman explained that Mrs Adebayo was rearrested in Offa with drugs such as Tramadol, Swinol, Diazepam and Pentazocine injection ampules.
“Before her latest arrest on Thursday 17th February, the nursing mother had been arrested and granted bail on 24th January 2022 for dealing in similar drugs,” Babafemi said.
He said NDLEA officers also arrested two drug dealers: Sani Isa (aka Bilaz) and Bala Yerima in Hong, Adamawa state with 239 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 209kg, while operatives of the Bauchi state Command intercepted a truck marked FFF 422 XB coming from Lagos to Maiduguri, at Azare, Bauchi.
A total of 164.8kg of cannabis sativa concealed in milk cartons was recovered from the truck.
