Lagos pilgrim arrested with fake $22,000 in Saudi Arabia
Kunle Awosiyan, Lagos
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
A pilgrim from Lagos State, currently in Mecca, Saudi Arabia for this year’s hajj has been arrested by the Saudi Police for being in possession of fake $22, 000 (N3.3 million).





http://odili.net/news/source/2009/nov/17/610.html

According to a source, who is currently performing the hajj in Saudi Arabia , the culprit is a member of the delegates from Agege Local Government Area, adding that he had since been detained in police custody.

However, the state commissioner for home affairs and culture, Alhaji Babatunde Balogun, who is in Saudi Arabia as leader of the delegates, refused to disclose the name of the arrested pilgrim.

The source told the Nigerian Tribune that the pilgrim had already converted $100 to Saudi Riyal undetected as the currency exchange officials were caught napping.

He said, “It was in the process of trying to convert more dollars to Saudi Riyal that the fraud was detected and he was promptly arrested and detained.”

The source explained that anyone caught stealing in Saudi Arabia would have his hand chopped off, while those caught with hard drugs would be killed but that the punishment for the pilgrim caught with fake dollars was not yet known.

Last year, two pilgrims on their way to Saudi Arabia were caught at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, with hard drugs.

Nna na wa ooo!

Allah wu akubar