NDLEA nabs 2 Saudi-bound pilgrims with illicit drugs at Kano airport
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two Saudi-bound pilgrims at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano after they were found to have ingested illicit substances.
NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday, saying the suspects 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 Agency added “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 agency also said it 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.
NDLEA 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.
