NDLEA BUSTS HAJJ DRUG CARTEL, ARREST KINGPINS USING PILGRIMS TO TRAFFIC COCAINE TO SAUDI ARABIA
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By: Sefiu Ajape
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate that sponsored Hajj pilgrims who acted as couriers to smuggle cocaine into Saudi Arabia during the pilgrimage.
This development was revealed in a statement on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, following the arrest of the cartel’s ringleaders in Kano.
The suspected kingpins — Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba — were apprehended on May 27 and 28, 2025, after the earlier arrest of two pilgrims, Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on May 26. The pilgrims were intercepted during the final screening for passengers boarding Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 940 to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Babafemi explained that the interception was based on credible intelligence. Upon undergoing a body scan, the two suspects were found to have ingested illicit substances. They were subsequently placed under excretion observation and each expelled 45 wraps of cocaine, totaling 90 pellets with a combined weight of 1.04 kilograms.
Further investigation led to the identification of their sponsors as leaders of a well-established drug trafficking network specializing in smuggling narcotics into Saudi Arabia. This prompted a swift follow-up operation that resulted in the arrest of the three identified cartel leaders in Kano.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Kano airport on 28th May intercepted a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1432 to Iran. 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, the statement said, no fewer than seven watch-listed containers were positioned for joint examination by NDLEA officers, men of Custom Service and other security agencies between 28th and 30th May, during which 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 N9,346,400,000.00”, the statement said.
In another operation in Kano, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kano- Maiduguri road Friday, intercepted the duo of Abubakar Hussein and Sahabi Adamu with $900,000 cash suspected to be counterfeit. The suspects and the exhibit will be transferred to the appropriate agency for further investigation.
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 27th May, NDLEA operatives in Kwara on Saturday, 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.
While commending the officers and men of the various Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
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