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.
NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday said “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,”.
He said the 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.”
