Days after breaking into and exposing high powered drug cartels, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), have foiled attempt by a syndicate to steal at least N2.7 billion from the Nigerian economy by pushing into circulation fake $4.7 million cash.
A statement on a Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said operatives of the NDLEA intercepted the consignment sent from Lagos to Abuja at Abaji area of the Federal Capital Territory, on Friday.
The consignment was sent through a controlled delivery of the parcelled counterfeit US dollars totalling $4, 760, 000.00 which 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.
The statement said the chairman/CEO of the NDLEA, Buba Marwa has directed that both the cash and the suspect in custody be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for further investigation.
Marwa commended the officers and men of the FCT Command for their vigilance and preventing counterfeit $4.7million from going into the streets. He charged them and their counterparts in Adamawa, Kwara, Bauchi and others across the country to intensify efforts at ridding the country of drug menace and other sundry crimes urging them not to rest on their oars.
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In another development and barely three weeks after a nursing mother, Rashidat Adebayo, 38, was granted administrative bail following her arrest for dealing in illicit drugs, operatives have again arrested her in Offa with assorted drugs such as Tramadol, Swinol, Diazepam and Pentazocine injection ampules.
The said before her latest arrest, the nursing mother had been arrested and granted bail on January 24, 2022 for dealing in similar drugs.
The 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, just as operatives of the Bauchi state Command have 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 peak milk cartons was recovered from the truck.
