Hidden money wrapped in large brown envelopes was found in a car at the Murtala Muhammed Airport. Nigerian Authorities seized $8million in cash inside the vehicle at the international airport in the commercial capital Lagos. Money launderers had stockpiled the cash in six plastic bags. The launderers had then wrapped up the money in 20 sealed packages inside the bags.
Money Laundering Syndicate
A customs boss Hameed Ali Said said at a press conference in Lagos that the money found was about to be smuggled out of the country when it was intercepted.
The boss said that “a money-laundering syndicate was behind the smuggling attempt.”
Mr. Hameed further stated that the syndicate was trying to assist corrupt government officials in smuggling the money. Authorities, though, intercepted the cash in a car at the airport on Thursday, 16th January, according to a report from the customs authority.
Hidden money seizure and arrest made
Two drivers working for an organization at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport were arrested. The two were caught while trying to move the money into the airport. Authorities, however, caught the drivers while they loaded the cash onto an aircraft. The customs Boss provided no information concerning the details about the plane. Mr. Hameed, however, said that a car belonging to the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) had the discovered money.
Money not claimed
Authorities, however, said that they still had no clue as to whose money that the two drivers smuggled. According to Nigerian Law, persons wishing to cross the border with a sum of money exceeding $10,000 in cash must declare it at customs. The customs controller-general reported that no bank had claimed ownership of the funds seized so far. He, however, reassured that investigations into who the currency belonged would sooner or later bear fruits.
Hidden Money Seized previously
There is such a high rate of corruption that takes place in Nigeria. As such, it is not uncommon in the country for large seizures of goods and cash to be reported. Just last year, Nigerian Authorities seized a customized gold iPhone and jewelry worth $40 million belonging to a former oil minister. In another case, in 2017, Nigeria’s Anti-fraud Unit reported it had found $43.4 million in an apartment in Lagos.
The Anti-fraud unit on the day of the bust had received a tip from a whistleblower. The unknown individual told the group that they had been seeing someone moving bags in and out of the apartment. The unit, later on, stormed a house on the seventh floor of the apartment building. The house was a four-bedroom apartment at Osborne Towers in Lagos. Investigators found money in two bedrooms of the four-bedroom home. Upon further investigation, detectives found wardrobes in one room containing neatly arranged Naira notes, US dollars, and Pound Sterling.
The customs controller-general Mr. Hameed Ali Said stated, however, that extra steps to ensure availability of additional surveillance to counter money laundering and terrorism finance were in motion.
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