The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate that recruited Hajj pilgrims as couriers to smuggle cocaine into Saudi Arabia. The agency arrested three kingpins of the cartel in Kano following the interception of two pilgrims attempting to board a flight to Jeddah with ingested narcotics.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi disclosed that operatives acting on credible intelligence arrested Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado on May 26 at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport during pre-flight screening for Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 940. A body scan confirmed they had ingested illicit substances, leading to the recovery of 45 cocaine wraps each—totaling 90 pellets weighing 1.04kg—after days of excretion monitoring.
Further investigations exposed the pilgrims’ sponsors: Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba, who were arrested in separate operations on May 27 and 28 in Kano. The syndicate reportedly specialized in using religious pilgrimages as cover for international drug trafficking.
In a related incident, NDLEA operatives at the same airport intercepted 60-year-old businessman Chinedu Leonard Okigbo on May 28 during clearance for Qatar Airways flight QR1432 to Iran. Details of his alleged involvement were not immediately disclosed.
The arrests highlight growing concerns over criminal networks exploiting sacred journeys for narcotics trafficking, prompting heightened surveillance by Nigerian authorities during mass pilgrimages.
