Barely
one week after arresting a China-bound man with 108 Automated Teller Machine
debit cards, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested two other
suspects with 89 ATM cards at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport,
Lagos.
A
statement SUNDAY PUNCH exclusively obtained from the NDLEA on
Saturday said 40-year-old Pauline Osita Nweke was caught with 65 cards, while
41-year-old Frank Chukwudi Egesiokwu, was caught with 24 cards. Both were on
their way to China.
The
NDLEA quoted Osita, an Onitsha-based trader who hails from Enugu State and
married with two children, as saying the cards in his possession belonged to
friends and business partners.
He
said, “I am a trader. I sell menswear at Onitsha. I was on my way to China to
buy goods when NDLEA officers arrested me with 65 debit cards. The cards belong
to my friends, relatives and business partners.”
The
second suspect, Egesiokwu, who was a boutique at Aba, Abia State, was found in
possession of 24 debit cards.
The
Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, has directed that the suspects be
transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further
investigations.
The
Head, Public Affairs, NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, in an interview with our
correspondent, said investigations by the agency had shown that the suspects
and their sponsors planned to beat the new minimum daily cash withdrawal limit
set by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He
said, “The new CBN policy is that one cannot withdraw more than $300 per day if
one is outside the country.
“What
we have discovered is that the suspect will open multiple accounts from each of
which they will use the ATM cards to withdraw money. So, if they are able to
withdraw $300 from 10 accounts, they will get $3000 daily; you can imagine how
much they will withdraw if the cards are more.”
Punch
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