The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade has said the agency has dislodged a suspected money laundering syndicate that specialises in swallowing dollars.
A statement on Thursday by the NDLEA said six suspected members of the group including a bureau de change operator were apprehended in connection with swallowing 156,000 (N30 million).
According to the statement, Giade promised to track down the smuggled narcotics and currency. He warned that operators of Bureau de change who failed to work within the confines of the law establishing them shall be severely sanctioned.
“The Agency will continue to rely on manpower training and intelligence-led drug control strategies to out-wit criminal syndicates. We shall take reasonable measures to dislodge drug cartels and eradicate narcotics from our society. Any Bureau de change operator that violates the law shall be punished accordingly,” Giade was quoted as saying.
In the statement, operatives of the NDLEA attached to the Joint Task Force (JTF) apprehended the suspects with $156,000 meant for export to Brazil at Excel Oriental Hotel along airport road, Lagos where the dollars were being swallowed.
Interim investigation report by the anti-narcotics agency revealed that one of the arrested suspects Nwokenta Kingsley also known as Buchito is the brain behind the suspected criminal act. He allegedly $120,000 to be swallowed and illicitly exported to Brazil.
Giade according to the statement directed that the suspects be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.
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