Security

Customs arrests Dubai-bound passenger hiding over 5,000 ATM cards

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October 7, 2020

The Nigeria Customs Service, Kano/Jigawa Area Command, arrested a Dubai-bound passenger, Sanusi Labaran, who was concealing 5,342 ATM cards inside a sack of beans. Labaran was attempting to board an Ethiopian flight to Dubai through the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, according to a report in Vanguard News.

The Comptroller, Nasir Ahmed, who is responsible for the management and direction of Customs, handed over the suspect to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission zonal office in Kano, with other seized items including seven pieces of memory cards and one SD card.

Ahmed said investigations will reveal whether the ATM cards were active, expired or falsified.

"The law will take its course. We are 100% sure that the EFCC will do a thorough job [of investigating the cards] because this a disservice to the nation," Ahmed said in the report.

Kano Zonal head, Sanusi Aliyu, vowed that the suspect will be charged upon completion of its investigation.

"The mere fact that he alone was holding over 5,000 ATM cards raises a very strong suspicion and red flag. We believe he is not alone. He has other people that have been working with him either independently or as a group. The fact that he has a resident permit in Dubai tells us he probably has been in this business for a time. We will join hands with all relevant agencies to find out how many times he has left this country and then for what purpose," Aliyu said in the report.