The Gombe State Police Command on Friday paraded two suspects, Habu Kabir, and Iliya Amos, for allegedly impersonating officials of the Internal Revenue Service.

Kabir and Amos were alleged to have defrauded intending hajj pilgrims of their tax clearance.

Parading the suspects, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mahid Abubakar, disclosed that the suspects, prior to their arrest, defrauded some persons of N30,000,

He added that “both suspects have confessed to the alleged offence voluntarily and will be charged upon the conclusion of investigation.”

Abubakar noted that the case was reported to the Gombe Divisional Police Headquarters by an official of the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service on behalf of the agency.

He added, “On May 20, 2023, one Habu Muhammad Kabir went to the hajj orientation camp at Government Arabic Teachers College, Gombe, and presented himself to the staff and intending pilgrims as staff of the internal service deployed to collect revenue from intending pilgrims.

“Upon receipt of the complaint, detectives from the Gombe division swung into action and succeeded in arresting the suspect. During interrogation, the suspect, Habu Muhammad Kabir, confessed to have forged the agency’s ID cards, receipts and stamps and collected the sum of N30,000 from two persons, N15,000 each for registration. The suspect conspired with one Iliya Amos, to produce a fake receipt for him after providing him with a copy of the original receipt.

“Exhibits recovered include two laptops, black in colour, one white HP printer, one stamp and its pad, one forged ID card bearing the photograph of Habu Muhammad Kabir but the name of Mustapha Muhammad Bello, some pieces of the forged receipts and the sum of N30,000.”

Lamenting the alarming rate of counterfeiters, the Executive Director of the service in charge of standard and compliance, Nuhu Bulus, described the acts as a dangerous trend.

He noted that following dwindling federal allocation, states were making attempts to increase revenue to deliver the dividends of democracy, adding that such leakages were worrisome.