Stories we hear!
A 26 year old airport cleaner, Chibuzor Onuegbe is presently on Police trail
for allegedly smuggling N242 million out of the baggage store of the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) undetected.
Although, he has since relocated to the United Kingdom, three of his
accomplice – Ifeanyi Francis, his girl friend Chioma Obinabor and his elder
brother Kalu Faith Onuegbe – have been arrested.
According to Sunnews, the stolen money was packed in a bag in US dollar
denomination totaling $1.5million which belongs to a middle aged woman (names
withheld).
She was said to have deposited the sum at the MMIA baggage room on October
30, 2013 for safe keeping. She discovered that the money was missing when
she wanted to pick it.
After all efforts to trace the money failed, she reported the incident at
the Lagos Police Command headquarters in Ikeja where the Commissioner of
Police, Umaru Manko directed the Officer In-Charge of Special Anti Robbery
Squad, Abba Kyari to fish out the culprits.
Read how he smartly carried out the theft below:
One of the accomplices, Francis who claims to be an Engineering student at
Government Technical College, Owerri, Imo State confessed that he never knew
the content of the bag until he left the airport.
He further revealed he made
N60million from the deal.
“Chibuzor told me that he wanted to smuggle out some abandoned luggage
from the baggage store at the international airport. He gave me a bag
containing old laptops and clothes. He also gave me a tag ticket which was
attached to the bag.
The deal was that I would get to the airport as early as 6am and move to the
baggage store and drop the bag. I will tell the store keeper that I want
to register the bag and will be back in evening to pick it up.
“As agreed on October 30, 2013, I went to the baggage store with the bag
that already had a tag. The store keeper asked me to pay N300 for a day and
N600, if I am to pick it the next day. I paid N300 and dropped the bag. Later
in the evening as agreed, I came to the airport and picked the bag. When I saw
Chibuzor, he told me that the deal did not work out, and that I will be
repeating the same process.”
The next day as agreed, Francis went through the same process and dropped
the bag. In the evening at about 7pm, he went back and picked the bag. “I
discovered that the bag was unusually heavy. Since I knew what was on
ground, I pretended that it was the same weight. It was easy to pick the bag
because I had a tag and a ticket.
“I quickly moved and joined Chibuzor who was already with a taxi. I
asked him what was in the bag and he told me to calm down that I will get to
know. We arrived his street and stopped in an area where cars were parked. He
opened the bag; it was then that I realised that it contained bundles of dollar
notes.
“I was speechless because the amount was much. He told me that as a cleaner,
he had access to the baggage room. All he did was to unlock my bag to which he
had the key and transfer the bag of money into my own bag. He told me to
calm down that there is a lot to gain and that he needs to contact his friends
at the airport before the money will be shared. Those friends, he
explained were the ones who gave him information that such amount of money was
in the baggage room and the colour of the bag. He tried to close the bag and it
was difficult, so he had to remove some bundles into another bag. We heard the
voice of some boys coming towards us, so Chibuzor hurriedly left the spot and
moved into their house. He forgot that he kept some money in the bag that I was
holding. He rushed out and promised to call me for my share,” Francis further
said.
I bought two plots of land, and built 6 blocks of flat. I also rented
a nice apartment and furnished it to taste. I also acquired a pathfinder jeep.
I do not know the whereabouts of Chibuzor, it was when they arrested me that I
was told that he is in UK.” He concluded
The second accomplice, Chibuzo’s girlfriend said “Sometime in November, I
sat by his side on board an ITC bus heading for Owerri. We got talking and
exchanged phone numbers. He also paid my transport fare to Owerri. The
next day he called me and invited me to his hotel room, it was then that he
told me that he is a business man and that his office is at MMIA, Lagos. We
chatted and ended up having sex and when I was leaving he gave me N20, 000 and
promised to keep in touch. Few days later, he called me again and gave me
N50, 000 and our next meeting another N100, 000. We were so much in love and he
told me that I am the kind of wife that he dreamt that God should bring his
way. I was happy, because at 27, I should be married.
“Also during Christmas period, he gave me N230, 000 for my shopping.
This year, he asked me to help him acquire a land in Onitsha. I was able to
acquire 10 plots of land for N19 million at an area called ‘33’ in Onitsha.
He told me that he was travelling to UK and would go through Ghana. His
explanation was that DANA airline goes to UK through Ghana. I never knew that
he was running away. I thought he was real, till the police arrested me.
It was at the police that I was told that he is a cleaner at the airport and
most importantly that he is 26 years old,” Chioma narrated.
And then the third accomplice, Chibuzo’s elder brother said “He came to visit me, gave N10 million, to acquire landed properties in Port Harcourt. He told me
that he was travelling to UK to further his education and will be back very
soon. I knew that he was travelling to UK, because he showed me his Visa. I am terribly sorry and willing to return everything that I got from him.
If you were in my shoes, I’m sure that you will protect your family,” Kalu
stated.