Money Laundering: EFCC Begins Probe Into $79,150 Airport Cash Seizure
Operatives of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have commenced investigation into the alleged money laundering case involving $79,150 (Seventy-Nine Thousand, One Hundred and Fifty United States Dollars) against the duo of Anih Shadrach Friday and Chukwukezie Vincent Ndonna.
The suspects were arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Friday, a Nigerian resident in Angola with passport number A110909213, and Ndonna were intercepted during a routine check at the airport on Friday, May 2, 2026. The sum of $79,150 was allegedly found in their possession and was not declared as required by law.
Upon arrest, the first suspect, Friday, who arrived in Nigeria aboard an Angola Airlines flight, was found with the undeclared money concealed in his hand luggage.
Investigations further revealed that the second suspect, Ndonna, was allegedly at the airport to receive the money.
While handing over the suspects and the recovered cash to the EFCC on Monday, May 4, 2026, the NDLEA Commander, Mohammed Mamman, stated that the interception was part of ongoing efforts to curb illicit financial flows, money laundering, and other economic crimes at the nation’s borders.
Receiving the suspects and the recovered money on behalf of the EFCC, the Acting Zonal Director of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE1 Adebayo Adeniyi, represented by Assistant Superintendent of the EFCC, ASE I David J. Bello, thanked the NDLEA and NCS for their continued cooperation and collaboration.
Adeniyi assured both agencies that the Commission would expedite investigations into the matter and ensure that all persons found culpable are brought to justice in accordance with extant laws.
The suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
