EFCC UNCOVERS N13 BILLION CASH IN LOCAL AND FOREIGN CURRENCIES IN LAGOS APARTMENT

The whistle blowing policy of the Federal Government appears to be paying off as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday announced that it uncovered foreign currencies and Naira notes to the tune of $43.4 million, £27,800 and N23.2 million at a four-bedroom apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The total amount of money recovered at the current Central Bank exchange rate is over N13 billion.

The operation followed a confidential information received by the Commission's Lagos office regarding some suspicious movement of bags in and out of a particular apartment in the building.

Another source who is conversant with the apartment indicated that a woman usually appeared on different occasions with 'Ghana Must Go' bags, the EFCC said.

"She comes looking haggard, with dirty clothes but her skin didn't quite match her outward appearance, perhaps a disguise", the source said.

On getting to the building, operatives who were armed with a search warrant, met the entrance door locked. The guards at the gate explained that nobody resides in the apartment, but some persons come in and out once in a while. The EFCC operatives used minimum force to enter the apartment, the statement said.

Monies were found in two of the four bedroom apartment. Further probe of the wardrobe by operatives in one of the rooms, yielded three fire proof cabinets hidden behind wooden panels of the wardrobe. Upon assessing the content of the cabinets, neatly arranged US Dollars, Pound Sterling and some Naira notes in sealed wrappers were found.

The funds are suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity while investigations are ongoing, the EFCC said.