Customs arrests passenger with $1.9m at Lagos Airport

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Command in Lagos yesterday apprehended a passenger with $1, 909,140.
Spokesperson for the command, Mrs. Thelma Williams, said the passenger, Mr. Ani Paulinus Oneyka, who arrived at the airport aboard ASKY Airlines flight from Democratic Republic of Congo, concealed the money in his luggage.

Williams said the passenger did not declare the exact amount he concealed in his luggage, adding that the money was discovered after physical examination by customs personnel at the baggage hall of the airport.
“About 12:30 hours, one Mr. Ani Paulinus Onyeka with Nigerian Passport No A00923933, upon normal routine examination, his luggage was found to contain the sum of $1,620,000 carefully concealed,” she said.

“On physical counting of the money, it was discovered to be $1,909,140 as against $1,620,000 earlier discovered when the passenger was apprehended.
“His non-declaration of the exact amount he came into the country with is gross violation of extant regulations as it affects the movement of large sums of foreign currency into Nigeria.
“The passenger and the said currency have been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives for further investigation.”