The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate that was sending cocaine mules disguised as Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the operation led to the arrest of the syndicate leaders—Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba—in Kano last Tuesday and Wednesday. Their arrests followed the earlier interception of two pilgrims, Ibrahim Mustapha and Muhammad Shifado, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on Monday. The two had been caught ingesting cocaine pellets and excreted a total of 90 wraps weighing 1.04 kilograms.
Babafemi said the interdiction at the airport was based on credible intelligence, confirming that the pilgrims were used as couriers for illicit substances rather than genuine worshippers.
In a separate operation at the same airport last Wednesday, NDLEA operatives arrested Chinedu Okigbo, a 60-year-old businessman, who was found with 65 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.41 kilograms while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Iran.
Meanwhile, at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, seven watch-listed containers were searched between Wednesday and Friday, resulting in the seizure of 825,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup and 5.1 million opioid pills, worth an estimated ₦9.3 billion.
NDLEA also reported arrests in other states:
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In Adamawa, 390 compressed blocks of cannabis (275.3kg) were recovered from an abandoned vehicle.
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In Kwara, notorious female drug dealer Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai was arrested in Ilorin with various opioids in her possession.
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In Kano, two suspects were caught with $900,000 in suspected counterfeit currency along the Kano-Maiduguri road.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s commands across the country for their balanced efforts in curbing drug supply and demand.
