Naira Crash: Joint Task Force Raids Enugu Arrests 115 Suspects For Currency Racketeering

A Joint Task Force consisting of the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Enugu Zonal Command, on Wednesday, apprehended 115 (one hundred and fifteen) individuals suspected to be in the business of currency racketeering in Enugu State.

In a sting operation at Owerri Road, Ogui, Enugu State, the suspects—113 men and 2 women—were taken into custody after the joint task force obtained  reliable information about certain bureau de change operators, currency speculators, and street vendors running illicit foreign exchange markets in that area.

In a statement posted on the EFCC’s official X account on Thursday, the JTF detailed that preliminary investigations revealed that the majority of the suspects were foreign nationals from the Niger Republic.

The task force recovered N110,700,000.0, $8,368.00, and other foreign currencies from the suspects.

Naija News reports that the action follows the continuous crackdown on bureau de change operators as the President Bola Tinubu-led government works to restore the naira’s value in the foreign exchange  market.

The statement detailed that the Items recovered from them include “N110,700,000.00 (One Hundred and Ten Thousand, Seven Hundred Naira only),  $8,368.00 (Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Sixty Eight United States Dollars), £145.00 (One Hundred and Forty-Five Pounds), €2,725 (Two Thousand, Seven Hundred Twenty-Five Euros),  900 South African Rands, 32,000.00 CFA, 100 Turkiya, and 500 Bank Mozambique currencies in different denominations. A safe abandoned by one of the street hawkers was also recovered.

“Preliminary investigation showed that some of the suspects are foreigners from Niger Republic”