The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled a syndicate that sponsors hajj pilgrims who also serve as couriers to move cocaine to Saudi Arabia during pilgrimage.
Its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi in a statement issued Sunday said this followed the arrest of leaders of the cartel in Kano.
He added that the arrest of the kingpins: Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Tijjani, and Muhammad Shugaba on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th May 2025 in Kano was a follow-up to the arrest of two pilgrims: Ibrahim Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Monday 26th May during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airline flight ET 940 to Jedda, Saudi Arabia.
Babafemi noted: “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.”
Babafemi explained that a swift follow-up operation was carried out, and the trio of Muhammad, Tijjani, and Shugaba were arrested on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th May 2025 in Kano.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Kano airport last Wednesday intercepted a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Okigbo during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1432 to Iran.
Babafemi revealed that his body scan confirmed 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.
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.
Babafemi noted that during the examination, 825,200 bottles of codeine based syrup and trodol worth N5,77 billion in street value were seized while a total of 5.1 million pills of opioids especially tapentadol 225mg worth N3,57 billion were recovered.
This, he said, brought the combined street value of the opioids to N9,346 million.