The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a major drug trafficking syndicate that sponsors hajj pilgrims to smuggle cocaine to Saudi Arabia.
This breakthrough followed the arrest of three key kingpins in Kano and the interception of multiple drug mules at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
According to Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA in a statement issued on Sunday, 1 June, 2025, noted that NDLEA operatives on Monday, 26 May, 2025, arrested two Saudi Arabia-bound pilgrims, Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado, during final screening at the airport.
Acting on credible intelligence, agents subjected the suspects to a body scan which confirmed ingestion of illicit drugs. The duo later excreted a total of 90 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.04 kilograms.
Further investigations led to the arrest of the syndicate leaders — Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba — on May 27 and 28 in Kano. The trio were identified as the sponsors of the intercepted drug couriers and are believed to head a trafficking network targeting the Hajj pilgrimage route to Saudi Arabia.
Similarly, “in a related operation on Wednesday, May 28, NDLEA officers arrested Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, a 60-year-old businessman, during outward clearance for a Qatar Airways flight to Iran. He was found to have ingested 65 wraps of cocaine, totaling 1.41kg. He was also placed under excretion observation before the substances were recovered.
“At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, a major seizure took place between May 28 and May 30, 2025. In a joint inspection with Customs and other security agencies, NDLEA operatives confiscated: 825,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup and trodol, valued at ₦5.77 billion, and 5.1 million pills of tapentadol 225mg, worth ₦3.57 billion.
“This brings the total street value of the seizure to a staggering ₦9.34 billion; More Drug Arrests and Seizures Across Nigeria
“In Kano, two men — Abubakar Hussein (42) and Sahabi Adamu (53) — were caught with $900,000 in suspected counterfeit currency along the Kano-Maiduguri road on May 30.
“In Adamawa, 390 compressed blocks of skunk cannabis weighing 275.3kg were found in an abandoned Toyota Sienna along Ngurore-Yola road on May 27.
“In Kwara, on May 31, NDLEA arrested a notorious female dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, at Oja Oba, Ilorin. Various quantities of tramadol, flunitrazepam, and codeine syrup were recovered,” the statement added.
