An undisclosed number of persons involved in the sale of the new naira notes have been arrested as the Department of State Services declares war on those in the business of buying and selling of the currency.
This development was contained in a statement signed by the service’s spokesman, Peter Afunanya,on Monday, who also alleged that some officials of commercial bank are aiding the crime.
In the statement titled, ‘DSS intercepted syndicates selling new currency notes, bank official implicated’, the agency vowed to bring anyone caught to book.
It read, “The Department of State Services hereby informs the public that it has intercepted some members of organised syndicates involved in the sale of the new redesigned naira notes. In the course of its operations, in this regard in parts of the country, it was also established that some commercial bank officials are aiding the economic malfeasance.
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“Consequently, the Service warns the currency racketeers to desist from this ignoble act. Appropriate regulatory authorities are, in this same vein, urged to step up monitoring and supervisory activities to expeditiously address the emerging trend.
“It should be noted that the Service has ordered its Commands and Formations to further ensure that all persons and groups engaged in the illegal sale of the notes are identified. Therefore, anyone with useful information relating to this is encouraged to pass the same to the relevant authorities.”
On Sunday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) bowed to pressure to extend the deadline for the swap of old naira notes at commercial banks by 10 days.
Earlier before the extension, Nigerians had complained about the inability to swap their old notes for the new designs as the January 31 deadline came close.
Also, there were queues observed across banks’ ATM machines induced by the new naira notes