Monday, June 2, 2025 - The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended two Saudi-bound pilgrims at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport after they were found to have ingested illicit substances.
The suspects, identified as Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and
Muhammad Siraj Shifado, were subsequently placed on excretion observation
during which they excreted 45 wraps of cocaine each, bringing the total for
both to 90 pellets with a total weight of 1.04kg.
“The interdiction of the intending pilgrims at the NDLEA
final screening point at the Kano airport was based on credible intelligence.
When they were taken for scanning, the result confirmed ingestion of illicit
substances.
“They were subsequently placed on excretion observation
during which they excreted 45 wraps of cocaine each, bringing the total for
both to 90 pellets with a total weight of 1.04kg,” the NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi
Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday.
The agency also said it uncovered and dismantled a
syndicate that sponsors hajj pilgrims who also The anti-narcotics
agency also uncovered and dismantled a syndicate that sponsors hajj pilgrims
who also serve as couriers to move cocaine to Saudi Arabia during pilgrimage by
nabbing leaders of the cartel in Kano.
Babafemi explained, “Investigation soon unraveled 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.
“In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Kano
airport on Wednesday, May 28 intercepted a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu
Leonard Okigbo, during the outward clearance of 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.”
According to the statement, no fewer than seven watch-listed
containers were positioned for joint examination by NDLEA officers, men of the
Customs Service, and other security agencies at the Port Harcourt Ports
Complex, Onne, Rivers State, between Wednesday 28 and Friday 30 May.
During the operation, the NDLEA spokesman stated that
825,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup and trodol worth ₦5.7 billion in street
value were seized while a total of 5,100,000 pills of opioids, especially
tapentadol 225mg worth ₦3,570,000,000 were recovered.
The statement added, “In another operation in Kano, NDLEA
operatives on patrol along Kano- Maiduguri road Friday, May 30 intercepted the
duo of Abubakar Hussein, 42, and Sahabi Adamu, 53, with $900,000 cash suspected
to be counterfeit. The suspects and the exhibit will be transferred to the
appropriate agency for further investigation.
“While a total of
390 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 275.300kg were
recovered from a parked Toyota Sienna vehicle marked YLA-408GG along Ngurore –
Yola road, Adamawa state on Tuesday, May 27, NDLEA operatives in Kwara on
Saturday, May 31 arrested a notorious female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat
Abdul-Fatai at Oja Oba area of Ilorin where various quantities of opioids
including tramadol, flunitrazepam and codeine-based syrup were seized
from her.”
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