The operatives of the Edo State Police Command have arrested 10 illegal forex operators, also known as Bureau de Change, in the state.

Newsmen reports that the Commissioner of Police in charge of the command, Funsho Adeboye, disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday in Benin City.

According to him, “We arrested 10 forex hawkers, that is, people who illegally deal in the sales of foreign currencies. They have been identified for illegally dealing in the sales of foreign currencies.

“We have Bureau De Change operators who are operating legally, and we didn’t touch them. We only arrest those who hawk foreign currencies,” he said.

Adeboye, who said the forex hawkers determine to a great extent the rate of the naira in exchange for the dollar and other foreign currencies, noted that it was embarrassing to the country that in the 21st century, we are still going to the roadside for foreign currencies.

While advising people to go to the bank for foreign currency transactions, he opined that in order to make things easy for the people, the federal government has gone to the extent of registering Bureau De Change operators in the country.

He enjoined the people to go to the various offices of the registered Bureau De Change operators instead of patronizing illegal operators who always stand by the roadside.

The commissioner assured that the crackdown on illegal forex operators is a continuous exercise, as they don’t want to see anybody by the roadside.

He, however, advised operators with genuine licenses for BDC to carry on their legitimate activities without middlemen so that the nation’s economy can move forward.