- Operatives of the EFCC have seized gold worth N1, 127, 308, 460.39 from one Abba Ali Yahaya, at the Abuja Airport
- A team of EFCC operatives led by a crack female detective arrested the suspect, whose passport has now been impounded
- Abba also had €112, 000 on him which he hid from Customs, and he was caught with 19 ATM cards
- A probe is currently ongoing to ascertain how the suspect passed through the scanning points without being detected
Gold worth about $3, 131, 412.39 (N1, 127, 308, 460.39) being allegedly exported to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, illegally, has been seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to The Nation, the anti-graft commission named one Abba Ali Yahaya as the brain behind the deal.
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NAIJ.com gathers that about €112,000 undeclared by Abba, has also been forfeited over alleged violation of Nigeria’s Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act. The suspect’s passport has also been impounded.
A syndicate of illegal miners operating in Zamfara state are said to have handed over the precious metal to the suspect.
The EFCC is now on the trail of the four members of the gang which is said to have perfected ways of beating security agencies at the nation’s airports.
A document reportedly showed that a team of EFCC operatives led by a crack female detective arrested the suspect, who admitted to being a courier, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Screening machines at the airport had failed to detect the metals.
According to the fact sheet: “The suspect was caught following a tip off after he had managed to pass through all the screening machines without being caught.
“He was in possession of N1.1b worth of gold while travelling alone to meet with the Dubai end of a ring of buyers of illegal miners. Being illegally in possession of the gold was a violation of Minerals and Mines Act.
“Abba had €112, 000 on him which he hid from Customs and he was caught with 19 ATM cards. Upon interrogation, he admitted he is a courier and he fingered a businessman.
“Our detectives later discovered that the suspect only implicated the businessman as a decoy.
“The EFCC is already on the trail of four suspects connected with massive illegal mining activities in Zamfara and exportation of mines. Preliminary evidence has linked the suspect with a miner in Zamfara.
“We have confiscated the passport of the suspect, seized the gold and the €112,000 he strapped into his body will be 100 percent automatically forfeited to the federal government as contained in the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
“The EFCC will file application before a Federal High Court for the forfeiture of the undeclared cash. The suspect is empowered by law to travel with about $10,000.
“So far, Abba has been released on bail pending the conclusion of investigation.”
A probe is currently ongoing to ascertain how the suspect passed through the scanning points without being detected.
A government source reportedly stated: “It was embarrassing that we have many screening and scanning machines being managed by different security agencies; but they were unable to detect the suspect.
“We are suspecting connivance with the suspect by some of the officials at different points. It is likely that the syndicate sending the suspect to Dubai might have penetrated the security operators at the airport.
“At the end of our discreet investigation, we will be able to find out how he beat the security network at the airport.”
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) intercepted bags containing N49 million cash at the Kaduna Airport.
Although the owner of the cash was not named, there was suspicion that it was related to illegal activities.
EFCC Walk Against Corruption - on NAIJ.com TV:
Source: Naija.ng
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