NDLEA intercepts Saudi-bound pilgrims with 90 pellets of cocaine
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a criminal syndicate notorious for using hajj pilgrims as drug couriers to Saudi Arabia, arresting three of its key leaders in Kano.
The cartel kingpins — Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba — were apprehended on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27 and 28, during follow-up operations after two intending pilgrims were caught with 90 pellets of cocaine at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
According to a statement released on Sunday by NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, the two 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.
“Acting on credible intelligence,” Babafemi said, “the NDLEA operatives subjected the pilgrims to a body scan which confirmed ingestion of illicit substances.”
He further revealed that the suspects were placed under excretion observation and each excreted 45 wraps of cocaine, totaling 90 pellets and weighing 1.04kg.
“An investigation soon unravelled their sponsors as leaders of a notorious drug trafficking network, which specialises 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 May 27 and 28, 2025, in Kano,” Babafemi added.
In a related development, NDLEA officers at the same airport in Kano arrested a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, on Wednesday.
Babafemi said the suspect was intercepted during the clearance process for 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,” he said.
Elsewhere, operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex (PHPC), Onne, Rivers State, conducted a joint examination of seven watch-listed containers between May 28 and May 30. The operation resulted in the seizure of a massive haul of controlled substances.
Babafemi reported: “The operation yielded a massive haul of 825,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup and Trodol, valued at ₦5.78 billion, along with 5.1 million pills of Tapentadol 225mg valued at ₦3.57 billion — bringing the total street value to ₦9.35 billion.”
In another significant operation in Kano, NDLEA operatives on May 30 intercepted two men, Abubakar Hussein (42) and Sahabi Adamu (53), along the Kano–Maiduguri Road with $900,000 in suspected counterfeit currency.
Babafemi noted that the case had been handed over to the appropriate authorities for further investigation.
In Adamawa State, 390 compressed blocks of cannabis sativa (skunk) weighing 275.3kg were discovered abandoned in a Toyota Sienna parked along the Ngurore–Yola Road on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in Kwara State, a notorious female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was arrested on May 31 in the Oja Oba area of Ilorin.
“Various quantities of opioids, including tramadol, flunitrazepam, and codeine-based syrup, were recovered from her residence,” Babafemi added.
Commending the efforts of NDLEA personnel across the country, the agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), praised the commands in MAKIA, PHPC, Kano, Kwara, and Adamawa for their recent successes.
He also applauded officers nationwide for “maintaining a strategic balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts.”
