The anti-narcotic officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency (NDLEA), who were on a routine patrol on Monday along the
Abaji-Abuja Expressway, had arrested one John Okafor for being in
possession of N48m cash.
GIDINAIJA gathered that the 25-year-old man was reportedly one of the
passengers of a commercial bus coming from Onitsha, Anambra State.
Following his arrest, Okafor maintained that the money belonged to an
unidentified Bureau de Change firm in Onitsha. He claimed he was an
employee of the firm and he was heading for the foreign exchange
market in the Federal Capital Territory to convert the sum to dollars
when he was arrested.
"I work for a Bureau de Change in Onitsha. I was asked to purchase
dollars at the foreign exchange market in Abuja with the money. When
we got to Abaji, our vehicle was searched and the money was found.
That is all I know."
Reports also reveal that that a drug dealer, Chukuka Ugbai, was arrested
with 79 bags of weed, confirmed to have tested positive for cannabis, in
Bako village in the Kwali Area Council, Abuja during the same patrol.
The drug which weighed 817 kilogrammes was found in his warehouse.
Ugbai had allegedly owned up to being an illicit drug dealer but
expressed shock at how the NDLEA operatives were able to trail him to
his residence.
He said, "I sell cannabis to take care of my family and pay my children's
school fees. I was not lucky enough because I don't know how they
detected my cannabis warehouse. The officers found 79 bags of cannabis
in my store."
The commander of the NDLEA, Mrs. Chinyere Obijuru, confirmed the
two arrests in a statement in Abuja.
She said, "Okafor was on board a commercial bus from Onitsha in
Anambra State when N48, 450,000 was found in a brown carton
concealed in a sack. He also had in his possession, 86,500 CFA.
"He claimed that the money belongs to a Bureau de Change at Onitsha.
He is suspected to be engaging in money laundering and will be
transferred to the EFCC for further investigation."
Chinyere further confirmed that Ugbai was arrested at Bako village in
the Kwali Area Council following the discovery of his cannabis
warehouse.
"Okafor would be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) for further investigation, while Ugbai would be
charged to court for unlawful possession of cannabis," the NDLEA
commander noted.
The NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, said the agency would continue
to clamp down on drug traffickers and urged the public to comply with
the provisions of the anti-money laundering act.
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