The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
yesterday said it arrested a 34-year-old man, Udeh Onuora Pascal
suspected to be working for an international criminal organization for
being in possession of 108 Automated Teller Machine (ATM) debit cards.
The arrest took place at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport
(MMIA) Lagos while the suspect was attempting to board a Qatar Airline
flight to China. The debit cards belong to five commercial banks.
NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Mr. Ahmadu Garba said that the
suspect was arrested in connection with suspected money laundering and
was immediately transferred to the Assets and Financial Investigation
Directorate of the Agency for investigation. First City Monument Bank
(FCMB) had the highest number of cards with 58. Stanbic IBTC Bank has
23 cards, Zenith Bank 19, Fidelity Bank six and Diamond Bank two.
Mrs. Victoria Egbase, the Director of Assets and Financial
Investigation said that the Agency had established a prima facie case
of financial crime against the suspect and that the chairman had ordered
the transfer of the case to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.
The suspect in his statement said that he was asked to take the
cards to China. According to him, “I am not the owner of the cards. I
was told to take them to China and that somebody will collect them from
me when I get there. I have a shop where I sell clothes at Onitsha Main
Market. I am also a 300 level student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University
Awka, Anambra State studying History and International Relations. I
never knew it would lead to my arrest”. Udeh hails from Obibi in Orlu
Local Government Area of Imo State.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, ordered that
the case should be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission for further investigation. “This is a suspected money
laundering case involving cash transfer with debit cards. The EFCC will
carry out further investigation on the case. We must continue to work
together as a united force against criminal syndicates” Giade stated.
Source:
Sun Newspaper
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