The Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted $193,000 in cash concealed inside a carton of yoghurt at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
According to a statement released Friday by National Public Relations Officer Abdullahi Maiwada, officers of the Federal Capital Territory Command discovered it during a baggage check of an inbound passenger on Thursday.
Customs Area Controller Olumide Adebisi identified the suspect as 40-year-old Kamilu Abdullahi Sarina, who arrived on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 951 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“Around the early hours of today, we received an intelligence report, which proved very helpful. This afternoon, one Kamilu Abdullahi Sarina, who boarded Ethiopian Airlines from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was found concealing a total sum of $193,000 inside a carton of yoghurt,” Adebisi said.
The Customs official explained that advanced scanning technology detected an unusual density in the suspect’s luggage, prompting a detailed inspection.
“We allowed him to proceed but closely monitored his baggage. Upon further inspection, we discovered that the density was irregular, so we instructed him to return. In his presence, we checked the package and found the undeclared money hidden inside the yoghurt carton,” he stated.
The undeclared cash violates the Anti-Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, which require travellers carrying funds exceeding $10,000 to declare them upon arrival or departure.
“The law clearly states that if a person has funds above $10,000, they must declare it to Customs. Failure to do so could result in the forfeiture of the money, a prison sentence of up to two years, or both,” Adebisi explained.
The intercepted funds have been formally handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution.
Adebisi warned that travellers attempting to bypass financial regulations would face strict legal consequences and reaffirmed the service’s commitment to preventing illicit financial flows across Nigeria’s borders.
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