A 38-year-old bureau de change operator, Haruna Garba, has admitted to helping a syndicate involved in the minting of fake currencies to sell fake dollar bills.
The suspect was arrested on Wednesday by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) unit of the Lagos State Police Command.
The suspect was arrested in the Ikeja area of Lagos after he sold some fake dollars to an unsuspecting buyer.
In his confessional statement, the suspect said: “I bought the fake dollars from some of my friends who are into the printing of fake currencies.
“We capitalise on the free fall of the naira note in the open market to sell fake dollars. You know, most Nigerians spend dollars and not naira,” he said.
The police described the suspect as a notorious currency counterfeiter who specialized in duping unsuspecting members of the public in Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos.
Haruna was arrested after a victim he had duped in August 2022, raised the alarm after sighting him engaging another customer.
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the arrest, said preliminary investigation indicated that Haruna, who was found with fake 700 dollars, had been in the fraudulent business of faking currencies for over three years after he was tutored by his late master.
The Commander of RRS, CSP Saheed Olayinka Egbeyemi, in line with the directive of the Commissioner of Police Lagos State, Sylvester Abiodun Alabi, has transferred the suspect and exhibits to the state headquarters.
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