A syndicate dedicated to sponsoring Hajj pilgrims who also serve as couriers to move cocaine to Saudi Arabia during pilgrimage has been uncovered and dismantled by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the operation followed the arrest of leaders of the cartel in Kano.
Babafemi named the arrested kingpins to include Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba who were nabbed on Tuesday, 27th and Wednesday 28th May 2025 in Kano.
He described their arrests as a follow-up to the arrest of two pilgrims – Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Monday 26th May.
The duo were arrested during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airline flight ET 940 to Jedda, Saudi Arabia.
“The interdiction of the intending pilgrims at the NDLEA final screening point at the Kano airport was based on credible intelligence.
“When they were taken for scanning, the result confirmed ingestion of illicit substances. They were subsequently placed on excretion observation during which they excreted 45 wraps of cocaine each, bringing the total for both to 90 pellets with a total weight of 1.04kg.
“Investigation soon unraveled their sponsors as leaders of a notorious drug trafficking network, which specialises in trafficking illicit drugs to Saudi Arabia. A swift follow-up operation was carried out, and the trio of Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba were arrested on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th May 2025 in Kano,” Babafemi explained.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Kano airport on Wednesday 28th May intercepted a 60-year-old businessman identified as Chinedu Leonard Okigbo during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1432 to Iran.
NDLEA disclosed that his body scan confirmed that he ingested illicit substances as a result of which he was placed on excretion observation during which he excreted 65 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.41kg.
Similarly, at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state, no fewer than seven watch-listed containers were positioned for joint examination by NDLEA officers, men of Custom Service and other security agencies between Wednesday 28th and Friday 30th May.
During the operation to unveil their contents, 825,200 bottles of codeine based syrup and trodol worth N5,776,400,000 in street value were seized while a total of 5,100,000 pills of opioids, especially tapentadol 225mg worth N3,570,000,000 were recovered.
“This brings the combined street value of the opioids to Nine Billion Three Hundred and Forty-Six Million Four Hundred Thousand Naira Only (N9,346,400,000.00),” the NDLEA revealed.
In another operation in Kano, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kano-Maiduguri Road Friday 30th May, intercepted the duo of Abubakar Hussein, 42, and Sahabi Adamu, 53, with $900,000 cash suspected to be counterfeit.
“The suspects and the exhibit will be transferred to the appropriate agency for further investigation,” the statement added.
While a total of 390 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 275.300kg were recovered from a parked Toyota Sienna vehicle marked YLA-408GG along Ngurore – Yola Road, Adamawa state on Tuesday 27th May, NDLEA operatives in Kwara on Saturday 31st May arrested a notorious female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai at Oja Oba area of Ilorin where various quantities of opioids including tramadol, flunitrazepam and codeine-based syrup were seized from her.
