The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Murtala Muhamed International Airport (MMIA) command, on Thursday handed over a Nigerian Dubai-bound passenger with 2,886 Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
The suspect, identified as lshaq Abubakar Abubakar with Passport Number A08333717 who arrived from Kano State was picked up while attempting to board a Dubai bound Emirates Evacuation flight.
The Deputy Controller of Customs, MMIA, Abdulmumin Bako, who briefed the media on the incident, said that four Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards were also found on the suspect.
Bako said: “At about 1145 hours on Aug. 22, at the departure hall gate ’B’ of the MMIA, Abubakar with Passport Number A08333717 from Kano State travelling to Dubai via Emirates flight was intercepted with 2,863 ATM Cards and 4 sim Cards by our officers on duty. The ATM cards and sim cards were carefully concealed in a noodles carton by the suspect.
“The suspect claimed that one Mr. Musliu was assigned to him to facilitate his movement through the checks at the airport by one Mr. Suleiman but the diligence of our Officers who insisted on conducting physical examination, revealed the concealment.”
He added that the suspect and the items would be handed over to the EFCC for further investigation as directed by the Comptroller General of Customs.
The Customs Legal Adviser, Mr. Smart Akande noted that handing over the suspect to EFCC showcased agency collaboration as customs does not have the jurisdiction to prosecute but to arrest.
“What we have here is the case file, ATM cards and the noodles used in concealing the ATM cards and we are handing them over to EFCC for further investigation and prosecution,” he said.
The Lagos Zonal Head, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa said the ATM cards could be used for money laundering or Foreign Exchange Malpractices.
He however vowed that everyone involved in the conspiracy will be arrested and prosecuted by the commission.
He said: “We have taken over Ishaq Abubakar who is in possession of 2886 ATM cards concealed in a carton of noddle together with four SIM cards. It is for us here to investigate and know whether the conspiracy is for foreign exchange malpractices or money laundering.
“We are also to determine whether banks or bankers are involved in this crime. We will investigate and anyone found wanting will be prosecuted alongside the suspect.
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The EFCC zonal head, noted that though, it was not a crime for a person to be with ATM cards but for one person to be in possession of 2886 at a time brings about lot of suspicion and threw up a lot of conspiracy.
“That the ATM cards are of different banks is another conspiracy and that raised a lot of questions that needed to be unravelled,” he stated.
Bawa also raised fresh alarm of Nigerians selling their bank accounts to fraudsters, saying that has been the latest trend in the last couple of years.
“In the last couple of years, we noticed a new trend whereby Nigerians are selling off their bank accounts to fraudsters. The fraudsters advise them to open bank accounts and they buy them off for as low as N10,000.
“Nigerians should know that anyone buying of their bank accounts is using it for fraudulent transactions and banks also needed to be investigated because that means they aren’t carrying out due diligence such as Know Your Customers (KYC) on respective bank customers,” he said.
