Nine members of the bogus Currency Syndicate have been detained by the Plateau Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The suspects were paraded by the Command’s spokesperson, DSC Chris Longbit, on Thursday in Jos. He said that the Special Intelligence Squad had apprehended them in the states of Plateau, Nasarawa, and Gombe.
He claimed that bogus Naira notes totalling more than N1.2 million were discovered during their interception.
“Using both recent and vintage phoney naira and dollar notes, our special intelligence squad apprehended these criminals in the states of Plateau, Nasarawa, and Gombe.
“The other was for $645 USD, and the naira notes total nearly N1.2 million. From February 22 and March 5, according to him, they were detained.
He claimed that several inks used to create counterfeit notes were found with the accused during their detention.
One of the suspects, Mohammed Yakubu, spoke with reporters and claimed, “I started this criminal company in 2015, but I was caught in 2019 with phoney N1 billion notes; I was jailed for a month and then freed.
This time, one of my acquaintances from Kogi State sent me a sample of the counterfeit money so I could compare it to the real thing, and in the process, I was detained in Lafia.
Yakubu stated that his colleagues were dispersed throughout the nation and cautioned Nigerians against dealing with those who use the phoney currency.
Longbit added that two suspects were detained by the command for allegedly damaging a transformer owned by the Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) in the Plateau’s Riyom Local Government Area.
He declared that after investigations were finished, the suspects who had admitted to the crime would be charged and prosecuted in court.
