Nigerian Kingpins Arrested Using Pilgrims To Smuggle Cocaine To Saudi Arabia
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a major drug trafficking syndicate that allegedly sponsored hajj pilgrims as cocaine couriers to Saudi Arabia, arresting three of the network’s suspected kingpins in Kano.
According to a press statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the syndicate was uncovered following the arrest of two Saudi-bound pilgrims at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA). The suspects, identified as Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado, were intercepted on Monday, May 26, during outbound clearance for Ethiopian Airline flight ET 940 to Jeddah.
“Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives subjected the two pilgrims to a body scan, which confirmed ingestion of illicit substances. They were placed on excretion observation and eventually expelled 45 wraps of cocaine each—totaling 90 wraps weighing 1.04kg,” the agency disclosed.
Further investigation revealed that the pilgrims were acting on behalf of a drug cartel. A swift follow-up operation led to the arrest of Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba on May 27 and 28 in Kano.
In a related operation at the same airport on May 28, a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, was intercepted while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Iran. A body scan revealed he had ingested illicit substances, and under observation, he excreted 65 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.41kg.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex (PHPC), Onne, Rivers State, in a joint examination with Customs and other security agencies, uncovered a massive shipment of opioids. Between May 28 and 30, the team intercepted 825,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup and trodol, valued at over ₦5.7 billion. Additionally, 5.1 million pills of tapentadol 225mg, worth ₦3.57 billion, were seized. The total street value of the intercepted drugs is estimated at ₦9.3 billion.
In another Kano-based operation along the Kano-Maiduguri road on May 30, NDLEA arrested two suspects—Abubakar Hussein, 42, and Sahabi Adamu, 53—found in possession of $900,000 in cash, suspected to be counterfeit. The suspects and the exhibit have been handed over to the appropriate agency for further investigation.
Elsewhere in the country, NDLEA operatives in Adamawa on May 27 recovered 390 compressed blocks of skunk (a potent cannabis variant) weighing 275.3kg from an abandoned Toyota Sienna vehicle on the Ngurore-Yola road.
In Ilorin, Kwara State, a notorious female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was apprehended on May 31 at Oja Oba. Officers seized various quantities of tramadol, flunitrazepam, and codeine-based syrup from her residence.
NDLEA also continued its anti-drug advocacy under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative with sensitization programs in schools across Katsina, Enugu, Anambra, Kano, and Cross River States.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s commands in Kano, Rivers, Adamawa, and Kwara for their successful operations and praised officers nationwide for maintaining a balance between curbing drug supply and addressing drug demand.
