NDLEA Smashes Hajj Cocaine Syndicate, Arrests Kingpins in Kano; Seizes N9.3bn Worth of Opioids in Rivers
In a major crackdown on drug trafficking, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a syndicate allegedly sponsoring Hajj pilgrims as cocaine couriers to Saudi Arabia. The operation, which led to the arrest of three key cartel leaders in Kano, was the result of a series of coordinated intelligence-driven actions.
The three suspects — Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba — were apprehended on Tuesday, May 27, and Wednesday, May 28, 2025, following the arrest of two Saudi-bound pilgrims at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.
The two pilgrims, Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado, were intercepted during the final screening for passengers boarding Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 940 to Jeddah. Upon scanning, both men were found to have ingested illicit drugs. Under excretion observation, each suspect excreted 45 wraps of cocaine, totaling 90 wraps and weighing 1.04 kilograms.
Further investigation revealed their sponsors to be the arrested cartel leaders, who are believed to be running a notorious drug trafficking network that exploits religious pilgrimages to transport narcotics.
In a separate operation at the same airport on May 28, NDLEA officers apprehended a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, during clearance for Qatar Airways flight QR1432 to Iran. He tested positive for drug ingestion and subsequently excreted 65 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.41 kilograms.
Meanwhile, in Rivers State, operatives of the NDLEA, in collaboration with officers from the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, carried out a joint examination of seven watch-listed containers at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne. The operation, conducted between May 28 and 30, uncovered:
- 825,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup and trodol with a street value of N5.77 billion
- 5.1 million pills of opioids, particularly tapentadol 225mg, valued at N3.57 billion
The total street value of the seized drugs stands at a staggering N9.35 billion.
Additionally, along the Kano-Maiduguri road on May 30, operatives intercepted two suspects — Abubakar Hussein, 42, and Sahabi Adamu, 53 — with $900,000 in suspected counterfeit currency. The suspects and the seized cash have been handed over to the relevant authorities for further investigation.
In Adamawa State, 390 compressed blocks of skunk cannabis, weighing 275.3kg, were recovered from an abandoned Toyota Sienna vehicle along the Ngurore-Yola road on May 27.
Also, in Kwara State, a notorious female drug dealer, Alhaja Mutiat Abdul-Fatai, was arrested on May 31 at the Oja Oba area of Ilorin. Various quantities of opioids, including tramadol, flunitrazepam, and codeine-based syrup, were recovered from her residence.
As part of its ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, the NDLEA continued nationwide sensitization campaigns. Lectures were held at several schools, including Government Day Senior Secondary School, Kwasarawa (Katsina), Corpus Christi College, Achi (Enugu), Epignosis Standard College, Onitsha (Anambra), Government Girls Secondary School, Utai (Kano), and Government Girls Secondary School, Calabar (Cross River).
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the efforts of the agency’s officers in Kano, Rivers, Kwara, and Adamawa for their recent successes. He also praised all NDLEA commands nationwide for maintaining a strong balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction activities.
