By Hadiza Abdulkadir
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate exploiting hajj pilgrims as cocaine couriers to Saudi Arabia.
Two intending pilgrims, Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado, were arrested on Monday, May 26, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport during screening for an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Jeddah. They were found to have ingested 90 wraps of cocaine between them, weighing a total of 1.04 kilograms.
Following intelligence gathered from their arrest, NDLEA operatives apprehended three alleged sponsors of the operation: Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba, on May 27 and 28 in Kano.
In a related operation, a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, was arrested on May 28 at the same airport while boarding a Qatar Airways flight to Iran. He excreted 65 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.41kg.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s Kano command for its swift action and called for continued vigilance during the hajj season.
“This bust shows how far traffickers are willing to go. We will not let religious pilgrimage be used as a cover for criminal activity,” Marwa stated.