The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has exposed and taken down a drug trafficking network that was using the annual Hajj pilgrimage as a front to smuggle cocaine to Saudi Arabia.
The bust was made public on Sunday following the apprehension of three principal suspects during raids conducted in Kano State.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, identified the arrested ringleaders as Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba.
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Their arrests came shortly after two pilgrims were caught attempting to smuggle drugs at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA).
The suspects, Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado, were intercepted on May 26, 2025, while preparing to board Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 940 to Jeddah.
Acting on reliable intelligence, NDLEA officials conducted body scans that revealed the presence of foreign substances inside them.
Upon being placed under close monitoring, both individuals excreted a total of 90 wraps of cocaine — 45 each — with a combined weight of 1.04 kilograms.
This development led to the successful tracking and arrest of the cartel leaders responsible for coordinating the smuggling attempt.
In a separate incident on May 28, NDLEA agents at MAKIA apprehended 60-year-old businessman Chinedu Leonard Okigbo. He was preparing to travel to Iran on Qatar Airways flight QR1432. Officials found he had ingested 65 wraps of cocaine weighing approximately 1.41 kilograms.
Further intensifying their crackdown, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex (PHPC), Onne, working alongside Nigeria Customs and other security bodies, intercepted seven shipping containers between May 28 and 30.
These containers were found to hold: 825,200 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup and Trodol, with an estimated street value of ₦5.78 billion5.1 million pills of tapentadol (225mg), valued at ₦3.57 billionThe total value of the intercepted opioids stands at ₦9.35 billion.
Other notable operations during the week include: Kano–Maiduguri Highway (May 30): NDLEA agents intercepted 42-year-old Abubakar Hussein and 53-year-old Sahabi Adamu with $900,000 suspected to be counterfeit. The suspects and the money have been transferred to appropriate authorities for further examination.
Ngurore–Yola Road, Adamawa (May 27): A Toyota Sienna van, abandoned along the route, was found to contain 390 compressed blocks of skunk cannabis weighing 275.3 kilograms.
Ilorin, Kwara State (May 31): A notorious female drug trafficker, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was arrested at the Oja Oba area. A search of her premises led to the seizure of various quantities of tramadol, flunitrazepam, and codeine-laced syrup.
In support of the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, NDLEA continued public enlightenment campaigns with sensitization programs in multiple schools, including: Government Day Senior Secondary School, Kwasarawa, Katsina
Corpus Christi College, Achi, Enugu
Epignosis Standard College, Onitsha, Anambra
Government Girls Secondary School, Utai, Kano
Government Girls Secondary School, Calabar, Cross River
Commending the success of the operations, NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), lauded the agency’s commands at MAKIA, PHPC, and in Kano, Kwara, and Adamawa States. He also applauded the nationwide commitment of the NDLEA workforce to simultaneously suppress drug supply and reduce demand through proactive community engagement.
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