Two arrested for selling counterfeit new naira notes

The Enugu State Police Command has arrested two male suspects who possess, trade and sell counterfeit redesigned N1,000 notes in a municipal area in the state.

The suspects were in possession of 180 counterfeit pieces of the recently redesigned N1,000 notes of the Central Bank of Nigeria, with a face value of N180,000 (one hundred and eighty thousand naira).

This is stated in a statement issued and made available to the Nigeria News Agency by command spokesman DSP Daniel Ndukwe on Friday in Enugu.

Ndukwe said the feat was accomplished when police officers serving in the Commando’s Igbo-Eze South Division acted on credible intelligence at about 9:05 p.m. on Feb. 2.

He said police officers Joseph Chinenye, 39, and Onyeka Ezeja, 29, both male, and respectively from Iheakpu-Awka in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area and Onicha Village in Enugu-Ezike in Igbo-Eze North LGA arrested. .

“Preliminary investigations show, among other things, that the naira notes, which are in three separate batches, bear the same serial numbers A/34:282656, A/46:578759 and 8/93:852942.

“The suspects claimed to have obtained the counterfeit naira notes from an unknown woman in Benin City, Edo State.

“Moreover, they confessed that they had tried to sell the naira notes to a cashier, who rejected them.

“However, they were arrested by police officers at a petrol station in Ibagwa-Aka community of Igbo-Eze South LGA, where they used the naira notes to buy petrol,” he said.

Ndukwe said the duo would be taken to court after consolidation and completion of the investigation of the case by the State Criminal Investigation Department, Enugu.

He said that the state police commissioner, Mr. Ahmed Ammani, had secured the commitment of the police to search out and book criminal elements determined to commit such acts of economic sabotage.

The police spokesman said the commissioner also urged everyone to support the police in its quest to tackle crime and criminal elements.

“I want the good people of Enugu State to be vigilant and wary of who or how they are acquiring and carrying out transactions with naira notes, especially the new naira notes,” he added.

NAN