The Gombe State Police Command has arrested five suspects over alleged involvement in criminal conspiracy, possession of counterfeit United States currency and substances believed to be mercury.
The suspects were paraded on Friday following intelligence-driven operations carried out by operatives attached to the Dukku Divisional Police Headquarters.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, four of the suspects were arrested around 11:00am in Dukku town while allegedly in possession of fake foreign currency.
He identified them as Kabiru Abubakar (29) of Dugge Quarters, Dukku; Abubakar Aliyu (30) of Basirda Quarters, Dukku; Abdulrahman Mustapha (22) of Ramin Kura, Kaduna State; and Isah Alhasan (45) of Sheka Quarters, Kano State.
Abdullahi stated that the suspects were found with a total of 304 pieces of counterfeit one-hundred United States dollar ($100) notes.
“During preliminary investigations, the suspects confessed to the offence and further implicated the fourth suspect as the source of the counterfeit currency,” Abdullahi said.
He disclosed that in a related operation earlier the same day, police operatives arrested two other suspects at about 8:00am in possession of substances suspected to be mercury.
The suspects, identified as Muhammad Muhammad, also known as Malam, 40, and Abubakar Bala, popularly called Boza, both from Nasarawa State, reportedly admitted during interrogation that the substance was meant for producing fake currency.
“They confessed that the substance believed to be mercury was intended for use in the production of counterfeit notes,” the police spokesperson added.
All the suspects are currently in custody as investigations continue to uncover the full scope of the alleged syndicate and recover additional exhibits.