The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
said on Saturday it arrested a man with 107 automated teller machine
cards in his possession at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos.
A statement by NDLEA said its officers
discovered the ATM cards in the man’s luggage during the outward
screening of passengers travelling to Istanbul, Turkey aboard Turkish
Airlines. It was discovered that the man also had two international
passports bearing photographs of him, but with different names.
The NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Hamza
Umar, said the man, aged 36, was apprehended for dual-identity and also
because of the discovered cards.
“He had a Nigerian passport with the name
Funsho Oladimeji Babatunde and a Turkish passport with the name Kosar
Kursat, both bearing his photographs. The cards found in his luggage are
68 Citi Mastercard cards and 39 Citi Visa cards,” Umar said in the
statement.
The suspect reportedly told investigators he was taking the cards to a friend in Turkey.
He said, “My friend in Turkey called me
to bring the cards to him in Istanbul, Turkey. When I collected the
cards in Lagos, I kept them in my bag but during search, the officer saw
the cards and took me for interrogation. I am a national diploma
graduate from the Kwara Polytechnic” he stated.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA,
Mr. Ahmadu Giade, was said to have given the directive for the suspect
to be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for
further investigation.
Giade said the cards were believed to be
used for fraudulent purposes, since he was not an authorised agent. He
added that any act capable of bringing the image of the country into
disrepute would be prevented.
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