The security officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on Thursday prevented a yet to be identified  suspect  from smuggling  271.14 million dollars (N54.35 billion) through the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Ikeja.

The FAAN Deputy General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mr Onyekwere Nnaekpe, made the discosure in a statement issued in Lagos.

The statement said that the money was found on a cleaner  attached to one of the cleaning contractors at the airport.

It said that the the FAAN official apprehended the suspect during a pat down at one of the screening points at ‘D’ Finger of the international terminal.

According to it, some of the foreign currency was found on the suspect while the remaining amount was found in the sanitary bucket which he was trying to pass through screening.

The statement said that the cleaner was trying to convey the foreign currency to an accomplice at the sterile area of the terminal.

It said that the suspect was immediately handed over to the appropriate security agencies at the airport for further investigation.