NDLEA arrests drug kingpin, five others over pilgrims’ detention in Saudi Arabia

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 55-year-old suspected drug kingpin, Mohammed Abubakar, alias Bello Karama, and five members of his syndicate at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.

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The arrest followed the detention of three innocent Nigerian pilgrims in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after illicit drug consignments were secretly tagged to their names.

NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this at a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.

Mr Babafemi was accompanied to the briefing by the agency’s Director of Assets and Financial Investigation, Abdul Ibrahim, and the Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo.

Mr Babafemi explained that the case came to light after the families of the three detained pilgrims petitioned the NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, over the wrongful detention of their relatives.

The detainees – Maryam Abdullahi, Abdullahi Aminu, and Abdulhamid Saddiq- had travelled on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 from Kano to Jeddah, via Addis Ababa, on 6 August.

Investigations revealed that six additional bags, not belonging to the pilgrims, were checked in against their names. Three of the bags were later found to contain illicit drugs.

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According to Mr Babafemi, Mrs Abdullahi had only checked in one bag weighing 9kg, which did not arrive with her in Jeddah. The luggage was eventually delivered on 16 August, a day before her scheduled return on 17 August, when she was detained. The same pattern applied to the two other pilgrims.

“NDLEA’s swift investigation revealed that the bags intercepted in Saudi Arabia were checked in against the complainants’ names by members of a criminal syndicate operating at MAKIA, without their knowledge,” the spokesperson said.

He added that the bags were traced to the syndicate leader, who had checked them into Ethiopian Airlines on 6 August while he himself travelled to Jeddah aboard Egypt Air with three other bags.

Mr Babafemi further disclosed that the operation involved staff of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company, who illegally tagged the bags.

He confirmed that the six suspects are now in NDLEA custody, with four of them already charged in court and awaiting arraignment.

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Mr Babafemi said the syndicate leader admitted to bringing in seven bags and that one suspect confessed to checking in two of the bags for a fee of N100,000, while another admitted to checking in two additional bags for the same amount. He added that receipts of N200,000 in transfers from the leader to the suspects were also recovered.

On international efforts, Mr Babafemi said the NDLEA is engaging with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) in Saudi Arabia to secure justice for the detained pilgrims.

He noted that the NDLEA Chairperson is scheduled to attend an international drug conference where GDNC officials will be present and may personally travel to Saudi Arabia to pursue the release of the detainees.

Mr Babafemi assured Nigerians that the agency would not allow its citizens to suffer unjustly for crimes they did not commit.

He stressed that while NDLEA remains committed to tackling drug trafficking and substance abuse, innocent persons must not be punished.

The spokesperson commended the minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, the managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Aviation Security (AVSEC), and the State Security Service (SSS) for their collaboration and interim measures introduced at MAKIA to prevent a recurrence.