NDLEA
arrests man with 108 ATM cards
An attempt
by a 34 year old man to smuggle 108 ATM debit
cards out of Nigeria has been thwarted by the National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Udeh Onuora
Pascal was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA),Ikeja,
in the process of boarding a Qatar Airline flight to China.
The APM
cards were issued by five Nigerian banks.
NDLEA
officials said yesterday that the suspects might be working for an
international criminal organization.
NDLEA
commander at the Lagos airport, Mr. Ahmadu Garba said that suspect was arrested
in connection with money laundering.
He was
handed over to the Assets and Financial Investigation Directorate of the Agency
for investigation.
Fifty eight
of the ATM cards were issued by First City Monument Bank (FCMB), 23 belong to
Stanbic IBC Bank while Zenith Bank has 19, Fidelity Bank 6 and Diamond Bank 2.
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 admitted that he is not the owner of the ATM cards and he was
only asked to take them to China.
“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.”
He claimed
to be a trader at the Onitsha main market and also a 300 level History and
International Relations student at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
He said he
“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 said : “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.”
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