The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate accused of sponsoring pilgrims to smuggle cocaine into Saudi Arabia during Hajj.
The operation led to the arrest of three key figures behind the cartel in Kano State, following the detention of two Saudi-bound pilgrims earlier in the week.
The pilgrims, Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado, were intercepted on Monday, 26th May 2025, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport during routine screening of an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Jeddah.
Intelligence reports prompted a body scan, which revealed that each suspect had ingested 45 wraps of cocaine – totalling 90 pellets and weighing 1.04 kilogrammes. Both were placed under medical observation and later excreted the illicit substances.
A rapid follow-up operation led to the arrest of three alleged sponsors: Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba – on 27th and 28th May in Kano. Investigators believe the trio are part of a broader trafficking network funnelling narcotics to the Middle East under the guise of religious pilgrimage.
In a related case, NDLEA operatives at the same airport arrested 60-year-old businessman Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, who was travelling to Iran on Qatar Airways. A body scan confirmed he had ingested 65 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.41kg. He was also placed under observation until the drugs were recovered.
Elsewhere, in a major operation at the Onne Port Complex in Rivers State, the NDLEA, in collaboration with Customs and other security agencies, inspected seven high-risk containers between 28th and 30th May. The search resulted in the seizure of over 825,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup and trodol – valued at over ₦5.7 billion – as well as 5.1 million opioid pills, mainly tapentadol, worth ₦3.57 billion. The total estimated street value of the haul is approximately ₦9.35 billion.
Additionally, during a routine patrol along the Kano-Maiduguri road on 30th May, NDLEA personnel intercepted Abubakar Hussein (42) and Sahabi Adamu (53) with \$900,000 in suspected counterfeit cash. The suspects have been handed over to the appropriate authorities for further investigation.
In Adamawa State, operatives discovered 275.3kg of compressed cannabis (skunk variant) in a parked vehicle along the Ngurore-Yola road. In a separate incident in Kwara State, a well-known female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was arrested at Oja Oba, Ilorin, where quantities of tramadol, flunitrazepam, and codeine-based syrup were confiscated.
