A sum of $193,000 cash concealed in a carton of yoghurt has been intercepted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by the Nigeria Customs Service.

The National Public Relations Officer of the service, Abdullahi Maiwada, in a statement on Friday, said the cash was discovered by officers of the Federal Capital Territory Command.

He explained that the interception which took place on Thursday, was as a result of credible intelligence gathering and a vigilant baggage check on an inbound passenger.

The Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Olumide Adebisi, said the suspect, Kamilu Abdullahi Sarina (40), arrived in Nigeria onboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight number 951 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Adebisi disclosed that acting on credible intelligence, the officers conducted a detailed inspection, which led to the discovery of the concealed funds.

“Around the early hours of today, we received an intelligence report, which proved very helpful. This afternoon, one Kamilu Abdullahi Sarina, who boarded Ethiopian Airlines from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was found concealing a total sum of $193,000 inside a carton of yogurt,” Adebisi said.

The CAC mentioned that the undeclared cash violates the Anti-Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, both of which mandate that any traveler in possession of funds exceeding $10,000 or its equivalent in negotiable instruments must declare it to the Nigeria Customs Service upon arrival or departure.

“The law clearly states that if a person has funds above $10,000, they must declare it to Customs. Failure to do so could result in the forfeiture of the money, a prison sentence of up to two years, or both,” he explained.

Adebisi noted that advanced scanning technology played a crucial role in detecting the unusual density of the suspect’s luggage.

He pointed out that when the suspect’s luggage was scanned, an unusual density was detected.



https://punchng.com/193000-hidden-in-yoghurt-carton-intercepted-at-abuja-airport/