The Lagos Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)is investigating Phil-Olumba Ifunaya Sheila, who was arrested by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS for allegedly failing to declare the sums of $14,567, £1,030 and CA$40.
Sheila was intercepted by NCS operatives during a routine check on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Upon arrest, the suspect, who was scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom, claimed she had only $4,000 on her.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale said the team from the Lagos Office has commenced a thorough investigation to ascertain the source of the funds and where they were going, as the suspect has committed a crime for not disclosing the funds.
In a related development, the EFCC has also begun investigating a parcel containing ZW 101,000,000,000,000 (one hundred and one trillion Zimbabwean dollars), equivalent to ₦426,091,066,068.06, and 41,640,000 VND (forty-one million six hundred and forty thousand Vietnamese dong), equivalent to ₦95,746.52, which officials of the Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, and operatives of the NCS intercepted.
During the handing over of the suspect and the various foreign currencies, the area comptroller in charge of the NCS at the airport, E.J.Harrison, said: “Today, we have two interceptions that we want to hand over to the EFCC. And they are coming from two separate places in the command.
“The first one comes from an area that we may not know so much about, but it is part of our coverage and area of responsibility- NIPOST (Nigerian Postal Service). We intercepted a parcel that contained foreign currencies.
“In fact, it was the vigilance and dedication of our officers and the NIPOST officials, while examining the parcel, that it was discovered that someone was trying to bring a load of currencies into Nigeria. But it is our responsibility to ensure that such doesn’t happen. So, we have, today, a parcel that will be investigated by the appropriate government agency.”
While receiving the suspect and the money contained in the intercepted parcel, M.A. Timta, an operative of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, assured the service that the EFCC would, as usual, expedite action on the investigation of the parcel as well as the investigation and prosecution of the suspect.
Timta, speaking on behalf of Ahmed Ghali, the acting zonal director of Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, EFCC, commended the Service for its sustained efforts in tackling illegal financial activities in the country.
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