The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has arrested a Dubai bound suspect, Sanusi Labaran, with a total of 5,342 pieces of Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) cards at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.
The suspect has been handed over to the Kano Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The suspect had concealed the ATM cards belonging to different banks inside two bags of beans.
Speaking while handing over the suspect to the EFCC, the Controller of the Nigeria Customs Service, Kano/Jigawa Area Command, Ahmed Nasiru, said that the suspect was on his way to board an Ethiopia Airline when he was arrested by the officers during the course of his screening.
He explained that following the arrest, he alerted the Controller- General of NSC, Col Hameed Ali (retired), who in turn directed that the suspect be handed over to the EFCC for further investigation.
The Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Mr. Sanusi Aliyu, while taking over the cases, assured that the Commission would promptly open up an investigation into the incident while promising to do a diligent job.
He noted that the unusual quantities of the ATM cards in his possession, including the fact that the suspect had a resident permit in Dubai, underlined the fact that he properly had been in the alleged crime for some time now.
He hinted that EFCC would join hands with all the relevant security agencies to find out how many times the suspect had left this country and for what purposes, including whether there had been previous offences linked with his previous travels.
He said that it was only after the EFCC had thoroughly examined all of these background issues that they would come up with charges against the suspect and present him to face the law.
He appreciated the NCS for its effort in arresting the suspect while enjoining the Command to do more in the discharge of their responsibilities even as he observed that both agencies of the government had been partnering in curbing criminality in the system.
