Security Personnel Caught with $6.1 Million in Undeclared Cash at Lagos Airport

Authorities have detained a group of security officers at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport after they attempted to board a plane carrying more than $6.1 million in undeclared United States dollars.

The incident took place on Saturday at the domestic section of Terminal 2, where the officers were about to get on a flight operated by Aero Contractors. Officials stopped them during standard screening procedures, discovering the money hidden in several large bags.

Eyewitness accounts indicate that the group had already cleared the main airport checks. However, airline staff became wary of the unusually heavy luggage as the passengers reached the steps of the aircraft, leading to a closer look.

Once alerted, airport security took charge and passed the case to the Department of State Services. The agency then moved the suspects to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for deeper probing.

Those involved allegedly told investigators they were law enforcement members transporting a detained person along with related evidence. Yet they had skipped the required steps for declaring large sums of money and handling such journeys on public flights.

This explanation might have allowed them to slip past the first round of inspections, but it failed to hold up when boarding staff spotted the bulky containers and demanded they be weighed and scanned.

Ado Sanusi, the head of Aero Contractors, verified the events in a phone conversation. He noted that his team’s security personnel flagged the issue right away because the bags seemed far too weighty for hand luggage.

When pressed to store the items in the hold, the passengers dug in their heels. They finally admitted the bags held cash, but confessed it had not gone through any official reporting process.

Sanusi added that the group identified themselves as police or similar agents guarding a prisoner and proof items. This, they said, was why they pushed back against the check-in rules.

He clarified that airlines have strict guidelines for carrying detainees: advance warnings are essential, along with separate entry and exit routes during boarding, and special handling once airborne. Without these safeguards, the flight crew barred them from taking off, and the officers eventually departed the area.

Efforts to reach out to key airport figures, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s press officer, the aviation security director, and the communications lead for the Terminal 2 operators, went unanswered. Neither calls nor messages received any reply.