The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted an undeclared sum of $193,000 hid inside a carton of yoghurt at Nnamdi Azikiwe Worldwide Airport in Abuja, officers introduced Friday.
The suspect, a passenger on Ethiopian Airways Flight No. 951 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, did not declare the money upon arrival, violating Nigerian monetary rules, Customs officers mentioned.
Abdullahi Maiwada, the spokesperson for the NCS, mentioned the seizure resulted from a focused intelligence operation and a meticulous baggage inspection.
“Performing on intelligence, Customs officers carried out an in depth examination, resulting in the invention of the hid money,” Maiwada mentioned.
Customs officers mentioned the suspect’s baggage was flagged utilizing superior scanning expertise, which revealed uncommon density inside the yogurt carton. Upon additional inspection, officers uncovered the hidden money.
“Using trendy detection expertise was instrumental in uncovering this try to maneuver giant sums of cash undeclared,” Maiwada mentioned.
The funds have since been handed over to the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) for additional investigation and potential prosecution. The EFCC, Nigeria’s high anti-corruption company, investigates monetary crimes, together with cash laundering and illicit monetary flows.
“As required by legislation, we’re handing over the forfeited funds to the EFCC for additional obligatory motion,” Maiwada added.
The seizure is a part of Nigeria’s broader efforts to fight illicit monetary flows and strengthen monetary transparency at its borders. In recent times, authorities have tightened enforcement to stop the smuggling of undeclared funds.
With authorities ramping up enforcement at Nigeria’s worldwide airports, officers have warned that failure to declare giant money sums might result in seizure, prosecution, and forfeiture underneath the nation’s stringent monetary rules.
