Two pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia have been apprehended at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano after being discovered to have ingested illegal substances.
The suspects were later placed under excretion observation, according to the NDLEA, who then removed 45 wraps of cocaine from both them, totaling 90 pellets and weighing in excess of 1.04 kilograms.
According to credible information, the intentioning pilgrims were interrogated at the NDLEA final screening point at the Kano airport. The results were confirmed when illicit substances were ingested when they were being scanned.
According to the NDLEA’s spokesman Femi Babafemi, who issued a statement on Sunday, “They were later 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 1.04 kg.
The organization claimed to have seized the cartel’s leaders in Kano and uncovered and dismantled a syndicate that supports hajj pilgrims who also serve as couriers for cocaine traveling to Saudi Arabia during pilgrimage.
Babafemi stated, “As soon as their sponsors emerged, they were the leaders of a well-known drug trafficking network with a focus on the flow of illicit drugs to Saudi Arabia. The trio of Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba were detained in Kano on May 27 and 28th, 2025, in a quick follow-up operation.
“In a related development, NDLEA agents at the Kano airport on Wednesday, May 28 intercepted a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, while Qatar Airways flight QR1432 was being cleared for Iran. His body scan revealed that he had consumed illicit substances, leading to the excretion observation process, during which he found 65 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.41 kg.
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No fewer than seven watch-listed containers were positioned for joint examination by NDLEA officers, Customs Service personnel, and other security personnel at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, between Wednesday, May 28 and Friday, May 30.
A total of 5, 100, 000 pills of opioids, including tapentadol 225mg worth 3, 570, 000, were recovered during the operation, according to the NDLEA spokesman. 825, 200 bottles of codeine-based syrup and trodol worth 5.7 billion in street value were seized.
On May 30th, NDLEA agents on patrol along the Kano-Maiduguri Road on Friday, May 30, intercepted the duo of Abubakar Hussein, 42, and Sahabi Adamu, 53, with $900,000 in suspected counterfeit money. The suspects and the exhibit will be moved to the appropriate agency for further investigation.
A renowned female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was detained on Saturday, May 27 in the Oja Oba area of Ilorin after 390 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 275.300 kg were found in a parked Toyota Siena vehicle marked YLA-408GG along the Ngurore – Yola Road, Adamawa state, where she was the subject of NDLEA operatives’ arrest on
See the following statement in its entirety:
NDLEA arrests three kingpins in Kano, arrests syndicate sponsoring pilgrims with cocaine for the holy month of Hajj, and arrests three NDLEA members.
. businessman intercepts N9.3 billion worth of opioids in rivers after abusing two pilgrims who are Saudi-bound there, and businessman who is visiting Iran to eat 155 cocaine wraps.
A syndicate that sponsors hajj pilgrims who also serve as couriers for cocaine transported to Saudi Arabia during the pilgrimage has been discovered and dismantled by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operations. Following the arrests of the cartel’s leaders in Kano, this happened.
Following the arrest of two pilgrims on Monday, May 26th, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, on the day of the flight’s departure clearance, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 940 reached Jedda, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28th, 2025, the kingpins Abdullah Muhammad, Abdulhakeeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba were detained at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Based on reliable information, the pilgrims’ interdiction at the NDLEA final screening point at the Kano airport was performed. The results were confirmed when illicit substances were ingested when they were being scanned. After being subjected to excretion observation, they removed 45 wraps of cocaine, totaling 90 pellets and weighing in at 1.04 kg.
Their sponsors, who were known as the leaders of a well-known drug trafficking network that specializes in the flow of illicit drugs to Saudi Arabia, were soon identified by the investigation. The trio of Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba were quickly detained in Kano on May 27 and 28. May 2025.
In a related development, NDLEA agents at the Kano airport intercepted businessman Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, 60, on Wednesday, May, during Qatar Airways’ flight QR1432’s departure from Iran. His body scan revealed that he had consumed illicit substances, leading to the excretion observation during which he found 65 wraps of cocaine, which weighed 1.41 kg.
No fewer than seven watch-listed containers were positioned for joint examination by NDLEA officers, Custom Service personnel, and other security agencies between Wednesday, February 28 and Friday, May 30, where a total of Five Million One Hundred Thousand (5, 100 000) pills of opioids, especially tapentadol, 225mg worth Three Billion Five Hundred and Seventy Million Naira Only (N3, 570, 000) were found. The combined street value of the opioids is nine billion three hundred and forty-six million four hundred and fifty thousand dollars only (N9, 346, 400, 000).
On Friday, on May 30, NDLEA agents on patrol along the Kano-Maiduguri road intercepted the duo of Abubakar Hussein, 42, and Sahabi Adamu, 53, who are suspected of having stolen $900,000 in cash from NDLEA. The suspects and the exhibit will be moved to the appropriate agency for further investigation.
On Tuesday, May 27, a renowned female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was found a parked Toyota Siena vehicle along Ngurore – Yola Road, Adamawa state, where a total of 390 compressed blocks of skunk and a strain of cannabis weighing 275.300 kg were found. On Saturday, May 31, NDLEA agents in Kwara, Ilorin, detained her at Oja Oba, where various amounts
Over the past week, NDLEA Commands across the nation engaged in similar social advocacy activities as WADA and WADA. Among them are a WADA sensitization lecture that was delivered to students and staff at the Government Day Senior Secondary School in Kwasarawa, Katsina, Corpus Christi College in Achi, Enugu, Epignosis Standard College in Onitsha, Anambra, Utai, Wudil LGA, Kano, and Government Girls Secondary School in Calabar, Cross River, among others.
While praising the agency’s officers and men for the arrests and seizures that occurred last week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised their country’s counterparts for striking a balance between their efforts to reduce drug supply and drug demand.
