The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted an undeclared sum of $193,000 concealed inside a carton of yoghurt at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, officials announced Friday.
The suspect, a passenger on Ethiopian Airlines Flight No. 951 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, failed to declare the cash upon arrival, violating Nigerian financial regulations, Customs officials said.
Abdullahi Maiwada, the spokesperson for the NCS, said the seizure resulted from a targeted intelligence operation and a meticulous baggage inspection.
“Acting on intelligence, Customs officers carried out a detailed examination, leading to the discovery of the concealed cash,” Maiwada said.
- Under Nigerian law, travelers carrying more than $10,000 in cash or negotiable instruments must declare the amount to Customs upon arrival or departure.
- The failure to do so contravenes both the Anti-Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act of 2022 and the Nigeria Customs Service Act of 2023.
Customs officials said the suspect’s luggage was flagged using advanced scanning technology, which revealed unusual density within the yogurt carton. Upon further inspection, officers uncovered the hidden cash.
“The use of modern detection technology was instrumental in uncovering this attempt to move large sums of money undeclared,” Maiwada said.
The funds have since been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and potential prosecution. The EFCC, Nigeria’s top anti-corruption agency, investigates financial crimes, including money laundering and illicit financial flows.
“As required by law, we are handing over the forfeited funds to the EFCC for further necessary action,” Maiwada added.
What you need to know
The seizure is part of Nigeria’s broader efforts to combat illicit financial flows and strengthen financial transparency at its borders. In recent years, authorities have tightened enforcement to prevent the smuggling of undeclared funds.
- Financial regulators warn that the movement of large sums of undeclared cash can facilitate money laundering, terrorism financing, and other financial crimes.
- The government has urged travelers to comply with declaration requirements to avoid penalties and legal action.
- The Abuja seizure follows another major confiscation at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, where the NCS recently handed over $578,000 in seized cash to the EFCC after a passenger falsely declared the amount.
- Nairametrics reported that a male traveler arriving from Johannesburg aboard South African Airways Flight SA60 initially declared $279,000 at the currency declaration desk. However, a routine inspection revealed an additional $299,000 concealed in multiple packages, bringing the total sum to $578,000.
- Authorities also found €100 and a counterfeit $250 note among the undeclared cash. Effiong Harrison, the Comptroller of the MMIA Command, stated that the suspect violated the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act of 2011, which mandates the declaration of amounts exceeding $10,000.
- Harrison added that the suspect’s international passport and relevant documents had also been handed over to the EFCC for legal action.
With authorities ramping up enforcement at Nigeria’s international airports, officials have warned that failure to declare large cash sums could lead to seizure, prosecution, and forfeiture under the country’s stringent financial regulations.
