NDLEA Smashes Syndicate Behind Hajj-Bound Cocaine Shipments
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a cocaine trafficking syndicate that smuggled the drug to Saudi Arabia disguised as sponsorship for Muslim pilgrims on Hajj. The agency announced the arrest of three principal suspects during operations in Kano State on Sunday.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the kingpins — Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba — were arrested on May 27 and 28, 2025, following the earlier arrest of two pilgrims attempting to smuggle drugs through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA).
The two pilgrims, Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado, were apprehended on Monday, May 26, while boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight (ET 940) to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Based on credible intelligence, they were subjected to a body scan, which revealed they had ingested illicit substances.
Placed under excretion observation, each suspect excreted 45 wraps of cocaine, totaling 90 wraps weighing 1.04kg. Further investigations led to the arrest of the cartel leaders believed to be behind the smuggling operation.
In a related operation at the same airport, NDLEA arrested 60-year-old businessman Chinedu Leonard Okigbo on May 28 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight (QR1432) to Iran. He was found to have ingested 65 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.41kg.
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex (PHPC), Onne, NDLEA operatives, working with Customs and other security agencies, intercepted seven containers between May 28 and 30, which were found to contain:
825,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup and Trodol, with a street value of ₦5.78 billion, and 5.1 million pills of tapentadol (225mg), worth ₦3.57 billion.
The total street value of the seized opioids amounts to ₦9.35 billion.
Kano–Maiduguri Road (May 30): NDLEA operatives intercepted Abubakar Hussein (42) and Sahabi Adamu (53) with $900,000 in suspected counterfeit currency. The suspects and the cash have been handed over to appropriate authorities for further investigation.
Ngurore–Yola Road, Adamawa (May 27): NDLEA recovered 390 compressed blocks of skunk cannabis weighing 275.3kg from an abandoned Toyota Sienna (Reg. No. YLA-408GG).
Ilorin, Kwara State (May 31): A notorious female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was arrested at Oja Oba area, where various quantities of tramadol, flunitrazepam, and codeine-based syrup were seized.
In its continued efforts under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, NDLEA conducted sensitization lectures in several schools across the country, including:
Government Day Senior Secondary School, Kwasarawa, Katsina
Corpus Christi College, Achi, Enugu
Epignosis Standard College, Onitsha, Anambra
Government Girls Secondary Schools in Utai (Kano) and Calabar (Cross River)
NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended officers and men of the MAKIA, PHPC, Kano, Kwara, and Adamawa Commands for their successful operations during the week. He also praised all NDLEA commands nationwide for balancing efforts between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction.
