The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Seme Border Command said it has intercepted fake $6million at Gbaji checkpoint, along Seme border axis.
The seizure was made on January 31, 2033 at Gbaji checkpoint, along Seme border axis.
Comptroller Nnadi Dera, Customs Area Controller (CAC) Seme Border Command, who disclosed this at a press briefing on Thursday, said the action was effected on January 31st,this year.
He said,the smugglers attempted to bribe his operatives with original $150,000 currency to allow them escape with the fake currency.
He said: “Custom officers at the Gbaji checkpoint intercepted a vehicle carrying two passengers and upon searching them, we discovered fake $6m US dollar bills in fake currency.It would only take the eagle eye of a trained officer to detect that they are fake.
“Some of these currencies bear the same serial number, and besides that, it will be very difficult for you to identify them as fake.Two people were arrested in respect of this illicit act”
He also disclosed that his officials seized were 1,300 x 30 liters jerry cans of fuel equivalent 39,000 liters, which is roughly over one fuel tanker of PMS with Duty Paid Value(DPV) of N9.366.45 million only.
He said the products were seized along the creeks.
The command also said it unmasked an international passport syndicate operating at the border axis.
He said that on January 31st,2023, at a about 5.am, operatives of his command on patrol along Gbetrome base intercepted six Maltese international passports with the same picture of a lady,but bearing different names.
The officials seized two Senegalese international passports, three Togolese international passports; four Republic of Benin international passports, one Republic of Niger international passport and ten international driving licenses of these various countries from two male suspects.
He said that the suspects have been detained in custody pending further investigation.
Other seized items are 55 sacks containing 550 pieces of donkey skin with Duty Paid Value of N11,715,110.
“Similar to this, we also arrested just few hours after this, two other passengers in a different vehicles and upon searching them, we discovered some international passports and these passports are from Malta Republic.
“All the six passports we got bears the same photograph of the same person, but with different names.The passport belongs to the republic of Malta, but bears the photograph of someone who appears to be an European and bearing different names for all the six passports.
“The same lady also has six international driver’s licenses bearing her photograph with six different names.The significance of this shows that we are dealing with a very serious syndicate that moves across the borders,”he added.
