The Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted undeclared foreign currencies valued at about ₦2.28 billion from an Austrian national at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The suspect, identified as Kavlak Onal, was arrested while attempting to board an Emirates Airlines flight to Dubai. The seizure was disclosed on Tuesday by the Customs Area Controller of the MMIA Command, Comptroller Chidi Nwokorie.
Nwokorie said officers of the Anti-Money Laundering Unit arrested the passenger on Saturday, December 13, after he failed to declare the cash in his possession. According to him, customs officials asked the traveller about currency declaration, to which he responded in the negative.
A search of his luggage revealed 651,505 euros and 800,575 dollars concealed in his travel bag. The combined amount exceeded the legal declaration threshold of $10,000 or its equivalent, bringing the total value to about ₦2.28 billion.
The controller said the seizure was carried out in line with existing laws regulating foreign exchange and money laundering. He cited provisions of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, and the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
Nwokorie noted that carrying large sums of money is not an offence, but failure to declare amounts above the approved threshold constitutes a violation. He urged travellers to make honest declarations at designated airport desks to avoid legal consequences.
The Assistant Commander of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Richard Adejumo, commended Customs for effective inter-agency collaboration and said the EFCC would continue the investigation.
Authorities have intensified enforcement against illicit financial flows at airports and border points as part of broader anti-money laundering efforts.
