A man identified as Chukwuebuka Igwebuike has been apprehended by the Enugu State Police Command on charges of defrauding unsuspecting traders with counterfeit naira notes in the Afor Market vicinity of the Garki Awkunanaw area in the state.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
Ndukwe noted that Igwebuike allegedly piled up fake naira notes to the tune of N362,000, which he often used to purchase goods worth lower denominations from traders and, in return, get the balance from them without the traders suspecting his antics.
However, the suspect was caught following a tip-off received by the operatives in the Awkunanaw division, who immediately swung into action and arrested the suspect.
The statement read, “Police operatives serving in Awkunanaw Division of the Enugu State Command, acting on a tip off, on 19/12/2023 at about 6 p.m., arrested a male suspect, one Chukwuebuka Igwebuike aged 37, at Afor Market, Garki Awkunanaw, Enugu, and recovered from him suspected counterfeit N1,000 notes, totalling N362,000.”
The spokesperson disclosed further that the suspect has confessed to committing the crime and will be arraigned in court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
“Preliminary investigation proves that the suspect confessed to the crime, stating that he used the fake one thousand Naira notes to buy items of small prices and get change for genuine smaller denominations. He shall be arraigned in court and prosecuted accordingly once ongoing investigations are concluded.
“Consequently, the Commissioner of Police, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, has urged citizens of the State and the public to be vigilant and wary of whom they receive and exchange all the denominations of mint Nigerian Naira with, especially this yuletide.
“Hence, he encourages the citizenry to quickly report anyone in possession of, or transacting in counterfeit Nigerian Naira notes, to the nearest Police Station for necessary policing actions,” Ndukwe concluded.
Tori
