By Atoyebi Nike
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a criminal syndicate at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, that planted illicit drugs in the luggage of three unsuspecting Nigerian pilgrims now detained in Saudi Arabia.
The victims Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Mrs. Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu, and Mr. Abdulhamid Saddiq were travelling for the lesser hajj on August 6, 2025, when members of the syndicate secretly checked in six additional bags under their names. Three of the bags, later intercepted in Saudi Arabia, contained narcotics.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi told journalists on Monday in Abuja that the mastermind, 55-year-old Mohammed Ali Abubakar (aka Bello Karama), worked with accomplices including staff of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company to perpetrate the scheme. Abubakar reportedly travelled on a separate Egypt Air flight while his accomplices tagged the bags to the pilgrims’ names on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.
“Investigation revealed that the complainants were victims of circumstance, implicated by a criminal syndicate operating at the airport,” Babafemi said.
Six suspects have been arrested, with four Abubakar, Abdulbasit Adamu, Murtala Akande Olalekan, and Celestina Yayock already charged to court. The NDLEA said confessional statements and payment records confirmed the conspiracy.
Babafemi added that NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), has initiated efforts to secure the release of the detained Nigerians. “Nigeria will never abandon its citizens, especially when the facts clearly show they are victims of criminal conspiracies,” he assured.
