Police: Criminals Use Fake Diplomatic Number Plates to Evade Security Checkpoints

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command in Abuja has dismantled a criminal syndicate responsible for creating and circulating fake diplomatic and official government number plates. These illicit plates have become a significant security concern, enabling criminals to evade checkpoints and access restricted zones within the capital.

FCT Police Commissioner Ahmed Sanusi revealed that the investigation, initiated upon his assumption of office, uncovered the widespread use of these fake plates by individuals not entitled to them. He stated that the fake numbers are used to bypass security, as individuals displaying them are often granted passage due to perceived diplomatic or official status.

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They use these fake numbers to beat security checkpoints. They use them to go into ministries and parastatals unstopped because everybody feels once you are a diplomat or have these plates, you are a big man.

Sanusi disclosed that the fake plates were procured for substantial sums, ranging from N500,000 to N1.7 million. He suggested that such significant expenditure indicates a clear agenda by the buyers, who now face punishments exceeding both their financial outlay and their planned criminal activities.

While suspects from whom the plates were recovered are in custody and awaiting charges, the investigation has identified manufacturers operating outside the FCT. Police are actively pursuing these individuals, whose identities are known, to bring them to justice and curb the production of these fraudulent documents.

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Some of these things are ranging between N500,000 to N1.7 million for them to procure. This will tell you that they are making such huge expenditure because they have an agenda to fulfil with it, which they feel is bigger than the cost they are incurring. Now they will face punishment that is bigger than both the cost they incur and the agenda they are planning to use it to perpetrate.