Agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, yesterday arrested a Bureau De Change operator and five others for money laundering when they were caught swallowing $156,000 (N31, 083, 000.00) at Excel Oriental Hotel, Airport Road, Lagos.
The six suspects were arrested while they were busy swallowing the large sums of money, intending to export $156,000 to Brazil.
Commenting on the arrest, the chairman of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, said the six suspected members of the group, including a Bureau de Change operator, had been apprehended in connection with swallowing $156,000.
Alhaji Giade pointed out that the agency would track down suspected drug traffickers and currency launderers in a bid to rid the society of crimes.
At the same time, NDLEA Commander, Joint Task Force, JTF, Mr. Adeniyi Muyiwa, gave the names of the suspects as: Nwokenta Kingsley, 37, a Bureau de change operator, also known as Buchito; Onwuasoanya Augustine Chukwuemeka, 54, who lives in Brazil and Christian Okoli Ifor, 35, based in Brazil.
The others include: Nwokenta Emmanuel Maduakolam, 31; Ezenwa Ikenna, 28, a specialist in wrapping; and Ezenwa Uzoma, a 33-year-old hotel manager.
He noted that an interim investigation report by the anti-narcotics agency revealed that Mr. Nwokenta Kingsley, a.k.a Buchito was the brain behind the suspected criminal act.
in the words of Mr. Muyiwa, Mr. Kingsley allegedly supplied $120,000 to be swallowed and illicitly exported to Brazil.
He said: “Onwuasoanya Augustine Chukwuemeka swallowed 74 wraps of dollars amounting to one hundred and eleven thousand ($111,000). Christian Okoli Ifor who resides in Brazil had forty-five thousand dollars which he wanted to swallow. Nwokenta Emmanuel who is the manager of Amazon Bureau de Change played a supportive role in the alleged crime. Ezenwa Ikenna was hired to wrap the money.
