Udeh Onuora Pascal was last week arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) after 108 Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) debit cards was found in his possession while about boarding an international flight.
In a statement quoting the NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Mr. Ahmadu Garba, the debit cards belong to five commercial banks, and the 34-year-old was working for an international criminal organisation, and was about to board a Qatar Airline flight to China at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) when he was arrested.
The statement reads in part: “First City Monument Bank (FCMB) had the highest number of cards with 58. Stanbic IBTC Bank has 23 cards, Zenith Bank 19, Fidelity Bank 6 and Diamond Bank 2.
“The agency established a prima facie case of financial crime against the suspect and that the Chairman had ordered the transfer of the case to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.”
The suspect in his statement said that he was asked to take the cards to China. According to him, “I am not the owner of the cards. I was told to take them to China and that somebody will collect them from me when I get there. I have a shop where I sell clothes at Onitsha main market. I am also a 300 level student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State studying History and International Relations. I never knew it would lead to my arrest.”
Investigation by OrijoReporter revealed that Udeh Onuora Pascal is married with two children and recently lost a relative whose burial was held in May, 2015.
