Customs Intercepts €651,505, $800,575 at Lagos Airport, Hands Suspect to EFCC
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Customs Intercepts €651,505, $800,575 at Lagos Airport, Hands Suspect to EFCC
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, has intercepted undeclared foreign currencies amounting to €651,505 (six hundred and fifty-one thousand, five hundred and five euros) and $800,575 (eight hundred thousand, five hundred and seventy-five United States dollars).
INCNews247 reports that the seized funds, with an estimated naira value of about N2,281,891,575 (two billion, two hundred and eighty-one million, eight hundred and ninety-one thousand, five hundred and seventy-five naira), were intercepted during routine checks at the airport.
Speaking during a press briefing at the Command on Tuesday, the Customs Area Controller, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Comptroller Nwokorie Chidi, said the interception occurred at about 2:45pm on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at the Departure Terminal Two of the airport.
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He said the suspect, Mr Kavlak Onal, an Austrian national with passport number AP0084116, was scheduled to travel to Dubai aboard an Emirates Airline flight when he was stopped by Customs officers for routine checks.
According to the Controller, the passenger had denied carrying any currency requiring declaration, but a subsequent search of his travelling bag revealed the undeclared foreign currencies.
Comptroller Chidi said the act contravened existing laws which mandate all inbound and outbound travellers to declare foreign currencies or negotiable instruments exceeding the approved threshold of $10,000 (ten thousand United States dollars) or its equivalent.
He commended the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, for his leadership, noting that Nigeria’s recent delisting from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List was achieved through effective leadership and inter-agency collaboration.
The Customs boss also praised officers of the Command, particularly those in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism Unit, for their professionalism and integrity in the discharge of their duties.
He said the interception was in line with the provisions of Section 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995; Sections 3 (3–5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022; and Section 55 (1) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
Comptroller Chidi clarified that carrying foreign currency above the approved threshold was not an offence, but warned that failure to declare, false declaration or under-declaration constituted an offence punishable under the law.
He urged travellers engaged in legitimate business to make honest and full declarations of currencies exceeding the threshold at the Currency Declaration Desks at the airport or risk prosecution and forfeiture of such funds to the Federal Government.
“With the approval of the Comptroller-General of Customs, the suspect, his international passport and the undeclared foreign currencies have been handed over to the EFCC for further investigation and necessary action,” he said.
Officials of the EFCC received the suspect and the seized funds at the briefing.
