The Kano/Jigawa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted $461,600 from two inbound passengers at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
The Command said the interception followed intensified surveillance against illicit cross-border cash movement through Nigeria’s borders.
In a statement signed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Customs Tahir Balarabe, the Service said the suspects arrived in Kano from Dubai on Friday, May 8, 2026, aboard Ethiopian Airlines.
According to the statement, the two travellers, a male and a female, initially declared $130,000 and $180,000 respectively.
However, Customs officers subjected their luggage to further non-intrusive profiling and secondary examination after noticing suspicious details.
The search reportedly uncovered an additional $151,600 which had been concealed and not declared.
This brought the total intercepted sum to $461,600.
Speaking during the handover of the suspects and exhibits to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Acting Customs Area Controller, Deputy Comptroller Usman Adamu, said the seizure showed the Command’s resolve to combat illicit financial flows.
Adamu said the suspects violated Section 55(f) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, which requires travellers to make honest declarations.
He said the suspects, intercepted funds and relevant travel documents were being handed over to the EFCC in line with Section 4(f) of the Act for further investigation.
Adamu commended the EFCC for its collaboration with Customs and praised the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, for strengthening officers through training and intelligence-led enforcement.
Receiving the suspects and exhibits on behalf of the EFCC, the Acting Zonal Director of the Commission in Kano, Friday Ebelo, said non-declaration or false declaration of funds above the statutory threshold was a serious financial offence.
Ebelo said any traveller carrying more than $10,000 was required by law to declare it.
He said failure to do so could raise concerns about money laundering, assuring that the case would be pursued to its logical conclusion.
The suspects, the seized funds and other relevant documents were formally handed over to the EFCC on Monday, May 11, 2026, at the Command Headquarters in Bompai, Kano.
