25-year-old John Okafor was arrested by
operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for being in possession of N48m cash. It
was learnt that the suspect was apprehended with
the money on the Abaji-Abuja Expressway on
Monday by the anti-narcotic officials who were on a routine patrol.
He was said to be one of the the passengers of a
commercial bus coming from Onitsha, Anambra
State, when he was arrested.
Okafor insisted that the money belonged to an
unnamed bureau de change firm in Onitsha, that he
was an employee of the firm. He said he was
heading for the foreign exchange market in the
Federal Capital Territory to convert the sum to
dollars when he was arrested. He said:
“I work for a bureau de change in Onitsha. I was
asked to purchase dollars at the foreign exchange
market in Abuja with the money. When we got to
Abaji, our vehicle was searched and the money
was found. That is all I know.” It was gathered that a drug dealer, Chukuka Ugbai,
was arrested with 79 bags of weed said to have
tested positive for cannabis in Bako village in the
Kwali Area Council, Abuja during the same patrol.
The drug which weighed 817 kilogrammes was
found in his warehouse. While Ugbai owned up to illicit dealing in drug, Ugbai, but said he was
amazed that the operatives were able to track him
to his residence.
He said:
“I was not lucky enough because I don’t know
how they detected my cannabis warehouse. I sell cannabis to take care of my family and pay my
children’s school fees. The officers found 79 bags
of cannabis in my store.”
The FCT commander of the NDLEA, Mrs. Chinyere
Obijuru, confirmed the two arrests in a statement.
She said Okafor would be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for
further investigation, while Ugbai would be
charged to court. She said:
“Okafor was on board a commercial bus from
Onitsha in Anambra State when N48,450,000 was
found in a brown carton concealed in a sack. He
also had on him 86,500 CFA. He claimed that the
money belongs to a bureau de change at Onitsha. He is suspected to be engaging in money
laundering and will be transferred to the EFCC for
further investigation. “Ugbai was arrested at Bako
village in the Kwali Area Council following the
discovery of his cannabis ware house. He will soon
be charged to court for unlawful possession of cannabis.”
The NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, said the
agency would continue to clamp down on drug
traffickers and urged the public to comply with the
provisions of the anti-money laundering act.
Punch