By Our Correspondent
Operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested 16 suspects over alleged crimes including possession of counterfeit $600,000, illegal firearms trafficking, suspected kidnapping and illegal mining activities in different parts of the country.
The arrests were carried out by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad in collaboration with the NSCDC Kano State Command during separate security operations in Kano State and Edo State.
NSCDC spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed that one of the suspects, Abbas Garkuwa, was arrested for allegedly producing counterfeit United States dollars and defrauding unsuspecting victims.
According to the corps, Garkuwa was apprehended on February 27 at Kwankwasiya City along Zaria Road in the Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State with fake $600,000 believed to be worth nearly N1bn in the black market.
Investigations revealed that the suspect had earlier issued counterfeit dollars amounting to $6,200 to a victim after collecting N9m from him at an exchange rate of N1,452 per dollar.
Authorities also discovered that the suspect allegedly received N5.5m through a bank account and staged a fake N8m transfer with the help of an accomplice, Kabiru Ketti, in an attempt to deceive the victim.
Security operatives recovered several items from Garkuwa, including suspected charms, 10 empty chemical containers, chemicals used for counterfeiting currency, plain printing sheets, bank ATM cards and a travel ticket to Cameroon.
The NSCDC further linked the suspect to another accomplice, Usman Muazu from Gombe State, who is currently on the run.
In a separate operation, the intelligence squad arrested another suspect, Sulaiman Uba, in Kano with six locally fabricated rifles.
The suspect reportedly confessed that the criminal syndicate disguised its activities under a private security outfit while facilitating illegal arms movement from Yobe State to the Okene area of Kogi State.
Meanwhile, eight additional suspects were arrested at Ososo Line 4 within the premises of BUA Cement in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State over alleged illegal mining, suspected kidnapping and criminal conspiracy.
Items recovered from the suspects include machetes, shovels, diggers and headpans believed to have been used for illegal mining operations.
Reacting to the development, the NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, commended operatives for the arrests and warned that the corps would not tolerate acts of economic sabotage threatening Nigeria’s national security.
He directed investigators to intensify efforts to identify other members and sponsors of the criminal network while ensuring that suspects currently at large are apprehended and prosecuted.
