Lagos - The Lagos State Police Command said on Monday that it had arrested a syndicate that specialised in printing fake local and foreign currencies.
Mr Umar Manko, Commissioner of Police, while parading the six suspects at the police headquarters in Ikeja, said the police were yet to establish their major marketers.
He said that 22 printing and cutting machines were recovered from the suspects while about N100million fake currencies were also recovered.
The commissioner said that the suspects had been printing currencies ranging from Naira, US Dollars, Pound Starlings, Euro, Cedis and Cefa notes of different denominations in the state for market world wide.
Manko disclosed that the suspects were apprehended sequel to information received by the Officer in Charge of Special Anti-robbery Squad, Mr Abba Kyari.
According to him, they were arrested at No 6, Ogunlana St., Alagbado.
He said that Kyari led the operatives to the area where intensive surveillance yielded fruit with the arrest of two suspects, eight printing machines and fake currencies, valued over N8 million.
The commissioner said that upon interrogation, the suspects made confessional statements which led to the arrest of three others, 14 printing and cutting machines with fake notes valued over N100 million.
Manko disclosed further that the suspects had confessed that they had many customers coming to buy currencies from Abuja, Republic of Benin, Ghana, Mali, Togo, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Some of the suspects told newsmen that they sold fake N100 000 for N5 000 and a wrap of fake 100 dollars for N3 000.
NAN