Police nab man for producing fake naira notes

The Enugu State Police Command has arrested one Collins Oputa for allegedly producing fake naira notes.
Spokesman of the command, SP Ebere Amaraizu, in a press statement Sunday in Abuja, said that the suspect, one Collins Oputa, was nabbed on July 26, 2018, by police operatives attached to the Ogui Police Division of the Command.
“Oputa, who claimed that he is a native of Ohaji community in Imo state, but resides at No 4, Fatimo Close in Ijegun, Lagos state, was nabbed in Lagos.
His arrest followed a man hunt initiated based on intelligence information gathered on his alleged criminal activities of producing and giving the fake currency naira notes to his agents for circulation,’’ he said.
Amaraizu said that the suspect had been helping police operatives in their investigation in relation to his alleged criminal activities with his cohorts.
In a separate development, a fake revenue agent, Chidebele Ozua, who reportedly uses government receipts to defraud traders at Nnewi Machine Parts Market, has been arrested by officials of the Anambra state government.
The state Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Trade and Wealth Creation, Dr Christian Madubuko, who made the disclosure in Awka, at the weekend, noted that Ozua’s criminal activities, which started in 2017, had caused a huge revenue loss to the state government.
According to him, the suspect had been handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS) for further investigation.
“The suspect, who uses government original receipts with a forged signature of government officials, specializes in collecting revenue and putting them into private use.
He intimidates innocent traders and collects stallage and other levies by the ministry without authority,” Madubuko said.
The commissioner, who disclosed that some staff of the ministry were linked to revenue theft, assured that the state government will not leave any stone on turned in fishing them out and ensuring he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
He said the receipts retrieved from the suspect indicated various prices from N12,000, N36,000, N48,000 to N50,000 yearly depending on the capacity of the traders.