Police arrest teenagers with $9.7m, €664,100 at Lagos airport

The Airport Command of the Nigerian Police Force has arrested two teenagers with $9,734,225 and €664,100 at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.



The 18-year-old teenagers, identified as Abdul Bashir and Rabiu Bashir, said to be brothers, were arrested at the old domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport at about 6.30 pm on Thursday, shortly after arriving with the huge sum of money aboard an Arik Air flight from Kano.



According to security and airline sources, the money was packed in four travelling bags, which the suspects checked in as hand luggage.



A security source said the police worked on a tip-off by an airline ground employee. Unconfirmed reports said the two young men did not declare the content of the bag before they boarded the plane in Kano.



It was learnt that the suspects, who claimed they were operators of a Bureau de Change outlet, were given the money by their customers.



A police source quoted the suspects as saying that they were in Lagos to sell the foreign currencies because the exchange rates were usually higher in Lagos.



The case had been handed over to the Commissioner of Police, Criminal Investigation Department of the Nigerian Police Force, Abuja for further investigation, according to a police source.



The Commissioner of Police, Airport Command, Mr. Moses Onireti, told SATURDAY PUNCH that he was in a meeting when a call was put through his telephone line for reaction.



When our correspondent called the police commissioner around 8.20 pm for the second time on the incident, he said, “call back.”



In 2010, an official in one of the commercial banks claimed she lost an undisclosed amount in foreign currency between Lagos and Abuja, which she said she checked in on an Arik flight.



It was lost in transit between Lagos and Abuja.



http://www.punchontheweb.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201102055355759

Waooooo

18 year olds travelling with billions of naira just like that.Waooo

So what exactly is their crime?  I smell vultures looking for their share of the money.

Seun:

So what exactly is their crime? I smell vultures looking for their share of the money.

Exactly.Aside from not declaring the huge sum they were carrying,they did nothing wrong(that's if they can account for the source of the money)

rasputinn:

In 2010, an official in one of the commercial banks claimed she lost an undisclosed amount in foreign currency between Lagos and Abuja, which she said she checked in on an Arik flight.

It was lost in transit between Lagos and Abuja.

This is exactly the reason why one may not be too comfortable checking in cash-bearing luggage in the cargo hold of aircraft on the domestic route.I know I've not carried such huge amounts as above ,but I've carried something substantial on some occasions and it had to be as hand luggage.I no fit check in dat kain dough make one pessin come dey tell me say dem shoot bird,na im d mama com fly leave am
Shuoooo,who be fool?

what would mere 18yr olds be doing with such amount of money and who gave it to them? i guess its either they are carrying fake currency or they re laundering the money or maybe just maybe its for fueling crisis in another part of the country or ELECTION 2011?? na dem know shaa, make the police no collect their own share and leave them just like that as usual,

d police just want thier share of the moneyy,

They obviously stumbled on d money & absconded with it!
The huge amt of money dazed dem 2 d point of stupidity!
So they were caught!

donjon:

The huge amt of money dazed dem 2 d point of stupidity!

Chuckles

Seun:

So what exactly is their crime?  I smell vultures looking for their share of the money.

Very foolish lads 4 tryin 2 fly wit dat amount of cash.
@ dia age i knew of such a tin called money laundering.
when sum of it get missing in police files ( hell, they'll keep it in a 'file' ), a commitee to investigate the missing 'files' will be set up and when the boys are finally charged to court, the judge will throw it out for lack of 'evidence'