The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has smashed a drug syndicate that specializes in sponsoring Hajj pilgrims as drug couriers to Saudi Arabia, arresting three of its key leaders.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, gave the names of the arrested kingpins as Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba, saying they were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27 and 28, in follow-up operations after two intending pilgrims were arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, with 90 cocaine pellets.
Babafemi said two other suspects, Ibrahim Mustapha and Muhammad Shifado, were intercepted on May 26 during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 940 to Jeddah.
He stated that the breakthrough came following credible intelligence by NDLEA operatives who subjected the pilgrims to a body scan, which confirmed the ingestion of illicit substances.
Babafemi added that the suspects were then placed under excretion observation and subsequently excreted 45 wraps of cocaine each, totalling 90 pellets weighing 1.04kg.
“Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered and dismantled a syndicate that sponsors hajj pilgrims who also serve as couriers to move cocaine to Saudi Arabia during pilgrimage. This followed the arrest of leaders of the cartel in Kano,” the agency spokesman said in the statement.
“The arrest of the kingpins: Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th May, 2025, in Kano was 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 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 specializes 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.
“In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Kano airport on Wednesday 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.
