By Desire Emmanuel
The Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted undeclared foreign currencies worth about N2.28 billion from an Austrian national at the airport.
The Customs Area Controller, MMIA Command, Chidi Nwokorie, disclosed this on Tuesday, December 16, in Lagos while briefing newsmen on the seizure.
Nwokorie said the Austrian national, identified as Mr Kavlak Onal, was arrested by officers of the Anti-Money Laundering Unit on Saturday, December 13, while attempting to board an Emirates Airlines flight to Dubai.
According to him, customs officers asked the passenger if he had any currency to declare, but he answered in the negative.
A subsequent search of his luggage, however, revealed 651,505 euro and 800,575 dollars concealed in his travelling bag.
He said the seized amounts, when converted to naira, were valued at N2.28 billion and exceeded the legally permitted declaration threshold of 10,000 dollars or its equivalent.
Nwokorie said the interception was in line with extant laws empowering the customs service to prevent illicit financial flows and enforce anti-money laundering regulations at the nation’s borders.
The controller noted that officers of the command resisted attempts at compromise and successfully stopped the funds from being smuggled out of the country.
He warned that failure to declare foreign currency above the approved threshold attracts prosecution and forfeiture.
He clarified that carrying foreign currency above 10,000 dollars was not an offence, but failure to declare, false declaration or under-declaration constituted a violation of the law.
Nwokorie urged travellers engaged in legitimate business to make honest declarations at designated currency declaration desks in airport arrival and departure halls to avoid legal consequences.
He announced that the suspect, his international passport and the seized currencies had been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.
