Police arrest suspect for using N2000 to buy N2.5m

A suspect, who identified himself as Raymond Fashaki, has told how he used N2000 to buy 150 pieces of fake dollars, valued at overN2.5 million.

According to Fashaki, he bought the paper dollars at the Lagos Island area of Lagos State, only to assist his childhood friend, simply identified as Alhaja Bello.

The suspect said that Alhaji Bello told him that he needed the fake 150 pieces of dollars for printing on T-shirts, which Bello used to sell.

Fashaki was arrested after policemen attached to X-Squad, police command, Ikeja, got a tip-off that a man was printing fake dollars in a shop at Alade market.

When the detectives reached the venue, they arrested the suspect and recovered the 150 pieces of paper dollars from him, and paper cefa, but the machine and chemical for printing of the fake dollars were not seen.

Since his arrest, the suspect said he had repeatedly told police where Bello lives, but the cops had allegedly refused to go and arrest the man.

The suspect said he strongly believed Bello set him up for reasons he was yet to fathom.

Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, said that in January 2014, X-Squad received a message that a man somewhere in Alade market was printing fake dollars. Detectives from X-Squad immediately swung into action.

She added: “The police detectives went to the place and arrested him and recovered from him several fake dollars. He claimed to be a graphic artist. The money is 1500 pieces, which is equivalent of two million, five hundred and eighty thousand naira.”

Fashaki said that he got the money from a friend named Yusuf on the Lagos Island. I got the dollar for my friend, called Alhaji Bello. He told me that he wanted to use the fake dollars to print on T-shirts.

“I believed him because we’ve been longtime friends. I have seen him with fake dollars.  I don’t know who got those first dollars for him to print on the T-shirts before. He sells the T-shirts, but I wouldn’t know if you will find those T-shirts in the market today. Alhaji Bello sent me to get him the fake dollars because he doesn’t know Yusuf who used to sell the dollars. I’ve also known Yusuf for a long time ago. I know he would give me fake dollars if I wanted some.  When I got the money, I went to where Bello asked me to meet him. As I brought out my phone to call him, police surrounded and arrested me.

“We’ve been friends for over 25 years. We grew up together. For a period 15 years, we lot contact. Late December, 2013, we saw each other and embraced.

“Before he used to have buildings and fleet of cars, but things turned bad for him. When we met in that December, he told me his story. He said that he had used his building to collect money. He said he used the money for business and the business knocked. But I didn’t ask him the sort of business.

“Two weeks later he called me. He said he would like to get paper dollars for a job. I told him that I had not touched paper dollars for years now. He begged me earnestly until I accepted to assist him. I went to Yusuf, who said that we should bring N6000, but after pleading with Yusuf, he collected N2000 and gave me the dollars.”