An attempt by a passenger to smuggle 23
wraps containing $34,000 have been
foiled by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The
suspect, Ozoh Ikenna was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport
(MMIA) Lagos on his way to Brazil. The dollars were detected during screening
of passengers on Etihad Airways flight to Abu Dhabi.
The money was packed in
wraps similar to narcotics and concealed in his boxer shorts.
NDLEA airport commander, Ahmadu Garba said
that the arrest was facilitated with the aid of scanning machine.
“The wraps of
dollars found on Ozoh Ikenna were detected with the aid of scanning machine. We
also conducted a follow-up operation where one Ogbo Emmanuel who gave Ozoh the $34,000
dollars was arrested” the commander stated.
Investigation activities conducted by the
Assets and Financial Investigation directorate headed by Mrs Victoria Egbase revealed
that the suspects are involved in the laundering of substantial amount of
illicit drug proceeds. According to Egbase, “we were able to trace over two
hundred and twenty-six million naira (N226,000,000) to one bank account
belonging to the second suspect, Ogbo Emmanuel. The account name is Eternal God
International Limited”.
Ogbo Emmanuel hails from Umunya in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra
State. After his primary and secondary education, he travelled to Onitsha to
learn automobile parts business. In 1996, he relocated to Lagos. In 2005, he left
Nigeria for Gambia in search of greener pastures. While in Gambia, he travelled
to Germany twice to purchase fairly used electronics. Ogbo came back to Lagos
in 2008 and has been dealing in cosmetic business at the Trade Fair Complex.
Ozoh in his statement said that he was only a courier.
“I live in Brazil since 2008. I was paid to smuggle the $34,000 to Brazil. They
promised to pay me five per cent. I agreed to smuggle the money to alleviate my
financial hardship. I could not swallow the wraps so I decided to hide it in my
underpants” he stated.
Investigation also discovered that suspected
drug proceeds were regularly deposited in the said bank account by members of an
international drug cell that smuggles cocaine from South America to West
Africa. Findings also revealed that the cosmetic business of Ogbo Emmanuel at
Trade Fair Complex Lagos was a mere cover-up as his sales record did not
justify the large flow of money into his bank account. A Hyundai Tucson Jeep
was seized as exhibit during the raid operation.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu
Giade said that the Agency is strategically targeting criminal wealth. “Asset
forfeiture is one of the effective ways of responding to organised crime
threats. We are working assiduously to trace and confiscate criminal wealth of
drug syndicates. Strategic efforts are on-going to prevent the entry of drug
proceeds into legitimate economy and criminal financing” Giade stated.
The NDLEA boss assured members of the public
that in view of the overwhelming evidence linking the money to narcotics, the
Agency will diligently prosecute the suspects. Effort is also being made to
apprehend other members of the drug cell.
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