Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service on Thursday intercepted a man, Ishaq Abubakar, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos who was in possession of 2,886 automated teller machine (ATM) cards and four subscriber identification module (SIM) cards concealed in noodles.
Mr Abubakar, who was headed for Dubai, UAE, was handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
While handing over the suspect to the EFCC, Deputy Comptroller, Enforcement, Abudulmumuni Bako, said, “Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Departure Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, on August 22, 2020, intercepted the suspect with 2,886 ATM cards and four SIM cards, which he carefully concealed in parks of noodles.”
Bako, representing the Customs Area Comptroller, added that “the suspect, who claimed to have come from Kano to travel to Dubai aboard the Emirate Evacuation flight, was seen with someone who was assigned to facilitate his movement through the airport checks.
“This raised the suspicion of the officers who insisted he should be physically and thoroughly checked after the scan machine had revealed he was carrying parks of noodles.”
EFCC Lagos zonal head, AbdulRasheed Bawa, assured that the commission would duly investigate the suspect and any other party that might be involved in the alleged criminal offence.
“There are a number of possibilities. There is an element of conspiracy, foreign exchange malpractices and money laundering. Indeed, banks and bankers are definitely involved,” he said.
