The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three staff of the Nigerian Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc over drug trafficking at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.
Also, the anti-narcotics agency said it has apprehended three other members of the drug syndicate, including the kingpin Mohammed Ali Abubakar (alias Bello Karama), 55 years old over the drug issue.
NDLEA accused the suspects of planting drugs in the check-in luggage of three Nigerian travellers to Saudi Arabia on August 6, 2025 aboard Ethiopian Airlines who are presently in detention in Saudi Arabia.
The three detained Nigerians in Jeddah had gone on a lesser hajj pilgrimage to the holy land before they were implicated in the drug issue, they had no knowledge of.
The NDLEA revealed these on Monday in Abuja during a press briefing on the criminal acts by the six suspects.
Mr. Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, said that four of the six suspects had been charged to court by the agency, but were still awaiting arraignment.
Babafemi gave the names of those charged to court as Ali Abubakar Mohammed, Abdulbasit Adamu, Murtala Akande Olalekan and Celestina Emmanuel Yayock.
Information gathered by our correspondent indicated that three of the four suspects are staff of SAHCO.
According to him, they all had made confessional statements, while Ali had admitted bringing in seven luggage, which were planted in the check-in luggage of the passengers.
Babafemi expressed that Celestina confessed checking in two of them for a fee of N100,000 and another suspect Jazuli Kabir who checked in two other bags admitted collecting N100,000 for the dirty job, while Ali travelled with the other three bags on Egypt Air.
He said the NDLEA had the receipts for the transfer of N200,000 from Ali to Celestina who in turn transferred N100,000 to Jazuli.
Babafemi explained that the arrest of the suspects followed receipt of complaints by Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), Chairman, NDLEA from three Nigerian families over the detention of their family members in Saudi Arabia after the completion of their lesser hajj pilgrimage on an allegation of trafficking in illicit substances into Saudi Arabia.
He said this led to the launch of an investigation by the NDLEA.
The agency mentioned the names of the three Nigerians detained in Saudi as Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi; Mrs. Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu and Mr. Abdulhamid Saddiq who boarded an Ethiopian Airline flight ET940, which departed Kano on August 6, 2025 to Jeddah enroute Addis-Ababa.
The agency said the three were unfortunate to be tagged with six additional bags not belonging to them, three of which were found to contain illicit drugs.
He added: “Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi while embarking on this flight, only checked in one luggage weighing 9kg on the 6th day of August, 2025, which incidentally did not arrive with her to her destination. Her husband was only informed of the arrival of their luggage on August 16, a day before the date of their departure from Jeddah which was to be on August 17, 2025.
“Following this allegation, she was detained in Jeddah and is still in detention till date. The case of the other two persons followed the same pattern and were reported to the agency shortly after Maryam Hussain’s complaint.
“The bags containing illicit drug substances intercepted in Saudi Arabia were checked-in against the complainants’ names by members of a criminal syndicate operating in Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport without the knowledge of the three complainants.”
He explained that all the bags were traced to Mohammed, the leader of the syndicate who checked them into the Ethiopian Airline on August 6, 2025, the same day the three complainants travelled on board the same airline from Kano enroute Addis-Ababa to Jeddah.
The agency, however, said that Mohammed, the kingpin who also travelled to Jeddah on the same date, boarded Egypt Air rather than Ethiopian Airline where he checked in his contaminated bags.
He added that the three complainants were arrested and detained for crimes they had no knowledge of in Saudi Arabia.
NDLEA insisted that the passengers who were being detained in Saudi are victims of circumstance, implicated by the activities of a criminal syndicate operating at the airport.
Besides, the NDLEA said based on the outcome of its investigations, it is spearheading a dialogue with the authority of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) in Saudi Arabia to see that the three innocent Nigerians are exonerated.
He stated that Marwa was presently on his way to attend an International Drug Conference, which would be attended by a delegation from the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC), who he intended to meet one-on-one, to present the agency’s findings and seek the cooperation of its Saudi Arabia counterparts in ensuring that the three detainees got the justice they deserved.
Babafemi pointed out that if required, Marwa was also prepared to travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia personally to pursue this matter to its conclusion.
He assured that Nigeria would never abandon its citizens, especially when the facts clearly show that they are victims of criminal conspiracies, while also maintaining that it would continue to fight the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.
Besides, NDLEA lauded Mr. Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development; Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN); Aviation Security (AVSEC) and the Department of State Security (DSS) for their collaboration on this case and for the interim measures that had been approved in MAKIA to prevent a recurrence of this type of situation.
(Independent)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three staff of the Nigerian Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc over drug trafficking at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.
Also, the anti-narcotics agency said it has apprehended three other members of the drug syndicate, including the kingpin Mohammed Ali Abubakar (alias Bello Karama), 55 years old over the drug issue.
NDLEA accused the suspects of planting drugs in the check-in luggage of three Nigerian travellers to Saudi Arabia on August 6, 2025 aboard Ethiopian Airlines who are presently in detention in Saudi Arabia.
The three detained Nigerians in Jeddah had gone on a lesser hajj pilgrimage to the holy land before they were implicated in the drug issue, they had no knowledge of.
The NDLEA revealed these on Monday in Abuja during a press briefing on the criminal acts by the six suspects.
Mr. Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, said that four of the six suspects had been charged to court by the agency, but were still awaiting arraignment.
Babafemi gave the names of those charged to court as Ali Abubakar Mohammed, Abdulbasit Adamu, Murtala Akande Olalekan and Celestina Emmanuel Yayock.
Information gathered by our correspondent indicated that three of the four suspects are staff of SAHCO.
According to him, they all had made confessional statements, while Ali had admitted bringing in seven luggage, which were planted in the check-in luggage of the passengers.
Babafemi expressed that Celestina confessed checking in two of them for a fee of N100,000 and another suspect Jazuli Kabir who checked in two other bags admitted collecting N100,000 for the dirty job, while Ali travelled with the other three bags on Egypt Air.
He said the NDLEA had the receipts for the transfer of N200,000 from Ali to Celestina who in turn transferred N100,000 to Jazuli.
Babafemi explained that the arrest of the suspects followed receipt of complaints by Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), Chairman, NDLEA from three Nigerian families over the detention of their family members in Saudi Arabia after the completion of their lesser hajj pilgrimage on an allegation of trafficking in illicit substances into Saudi Arabia.
He said this led to the launch of an investigation by the NDLEA.
The agency mentioned the names of the three Nigerians detained in Saudi as Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi; Mrs. Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu and Mr. Abdulhamid Saddiq who boarded an Ethiopian Airline flight ET940, which departed Kano on August 6, 2025 to Jeddah enroute Addis-Ababa.
The agency said the three were unfortunate to be tagged with six additional bags not belonging to them, three of which were found to contain illicit drugs.
He added: “Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi while embarking on this flight, only checked in one luggage weighing 9kg on the 6th day of August, 2025, which incidentally did not arrive with her to her destination. Her husband was only informed of the arrival of their luggage on August 16, a day before the date of their departure from Jeddah which was to be on August 17, 2025.
“Following this allegation, she was detained in Jeddah and is still in detention till date. The case of the other two persons followed the same pattern and were reported to the agency shortly after Maryam Hussain’s complaint.
“The bags containing illicit drug substances intercepted in Saudi Arabia were checked-in against the complainants’ names by members of a criminal syndicate operating in Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport without the knowledge of the three complainants.”
He explained that all the bags were traced to Mohammed, the leader of the syndicate who checked them into the Ethiopian Airline on August 6, 2025, the same day the three complainants travelled on board the same airline from Kano enroute Addis-Ababa to Jeddah.
The agency, however, said that Mohammed, the kingpin who also travelled to Jeddah on the same date, boarded Egypt Air rather than Ethiopian Airline where he checked in his contaminated bags.
He added that the three complainants were arrested and detained for crimes they had no knowledge of in Saudi Arabia.
NDLEA insisted that the passengers who were being detained in Saudi are victims of circumstance, implicated by the activities of a criminal syndicate operating at the airport.
Besides, the NDLEA said based on the outcome of its investigations, it is spearheading a dialogue with the authority of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) in Saudi Arabia to see that the three innocent Nigerians are exonerated.
He stated that Marwa was presently on his way to attend an International Drug Conference, which would be attended by a delegation from the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC), who he intended to meet one-on-one, to present the agency’s findings and seek the cooperation of its Saudi Arabia counterparts in ensuring that the three detainees got the justice they deserved.
Babafemi pointed out that if required, Marwa was also prepared to travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia personally to pursue this matter to its conclusion.
He assured that Nigeria would never abandon its citizens, especially when the facts clearly show that they are victims of criminal conspiracies, while also maintaining that it would continue to fight the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.
Besides, NDLEA lauded Mr. Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development; Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN); Aviation Security (AVSEC) and the Department of State Security (DSS) for their collaboration on this case and for the interim measures that had been approved in MAKIA to prevent a recurrence of this type of situation.
(Independent)
