The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), on Sunday, said its operatives, in the early hours of Friday, 18th February, 2022, intercepted a consignment sent from Lagos to Abuja at the Abaji area of the Federal Capital Territory.
Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, in a statement on Sunday, said the operatives also 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.
It said a controlled delivery of the parcelled counterfeit US dollars, totalling $4,760,000.00, led to the arrest of a principal suspect, 42-year-old Abdulmumini Maikasuwa.
According to him, the seizure followed intelligence received by the FCT Command of the Agency, detailing the movement of the cash and the vehicle conveying it.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has directed that both the cash and the suspect in custody be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for further investigation.
The statement also noted that in Kwara State, barely three weeks after a nursing mother, Mrs. 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.
It said before her latest arrest on Thursday, 17th February, the nursing mother had been arrested and granted bail on 24th January 2022 for dealing in similar drugs.
The statement added that the NDLEA officers have 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, adding that a total of 164.8kg of cannabis sativa concealed in peak milk cartons was recovered from the truck.
The NDLEA Chief Executive commended the officers and men of the FCT Command for their vigilance and for preventing the counterfeit $4.7 million from going into the streets.
He charged them and their counterparts in Adamawa, Kwara, Bauchi and others across the country not to rest on their oars.
