NDLEA Busts Drug Kingpin and Associates in Plot Framing Pilgrims for Trafficking
NDLEA Busts Drug Kingpin and Associates in Plot Framing Pilgrims for Trafficking
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced the arrest of 55-year-old Mohammed Ali Abubakar, a.k.a. Bello Karama, and five syndicate members in connection with the detention of three Nigerians in Saudi Arabia on drug-trafficking charges. The suspects, based at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, are accused of secretly tagging pilgrims’ luggage with illicit substances ahead of their August 6, 2025, flight to Jeddah for lesser hajj.
According to NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Abubakar flew to Jeddah that same day on EgyptAir, while his accomplices checked in seven extra bags under the names of Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Mrs. Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu, and Mr. Abdulhamid Saddiq. The three victims were arrested upon arrival on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940. Investigators say aviation-handling staff colluded with the syndicate, and one suspect, Celestina Emmanuel Yayock, confessed to checking in two bags for ₦100,000; another, Jazuli Kabir, admitted doing the same with two more.
Six suspects remain in NDLEA custody; four—including Abubakar, Abdulbasit Adamu, Murtala Akande Olalekan, and Yayock—have been charged in court. The agency is liaising with Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control to secure the release of the three framed pilgrims. NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.) plans further talks during an upcoming international drug conference and is ready to travel to Riyadh if needed. “These Nigerians are victims of criminal conspiracies, and we will not allow them to suffer unjustly,” Babafemi affirmed, stressing that while the NDLEA remains tough on traffickers, it will protect innocent citizens.
