By Julian Osamoto
Police in Ondo State have arrested a man and recovered suspected counterfeit United States dollar notes after raiding a suspected currency printing operation in Odigbo Local Government Area.
The suspect, identified as Peter Desmond, was arrested at Kiniso Village, near Ajue, where police said the operation was allegedly being used to produce counterfeit dollar notes.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, disclosed this in a statement issued in Akure on Tuesday.
Jimoh said the investigation followed a complaint by a trader, Yusuf Nasiru, who alleged that Desmond and another man, identified as Olami Toro, approached his shop in Okitipupa on October 25 to exchange dollars for their naira equivalent.
He said Nasiru handed the men 6,000 dollars, valued at about 8.6 million naira, but later discovered that the notes returned to him were counterfeit after the suspects claimed they could not complete the transaction.
According to the police spokesperson, investigators traced Desmond to Kiniso Village through intelligence gathering and technical tracking before raiding the suspected premises on October 29.
Police recovered three bags of suspected counterfeit dollar notes and a small wooden box during the operation, while other occupants of the premises reportedly escaped through a perimeter fence.
Jimoh said the arrested suspect was assisting investigators with information as the police continued efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspect and establish the full circumstances of the alleged counterfeiting operation.
