NDLEA nabs Kano alleged drug kingpin, 5 others

…Bust syndicate who plant drugs in luggages of Nigerian Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia

By Kingsley Omonobi

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a 55-year-old suspected drug kingpin, Mohammed Abubakar aka Bello Karama and five members of a syndicate operating at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, MAKIA, Kano who specialise in planting drugs on passengers’ luggages.

Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi who briefed newsmen yesterday, in Abuja, said, their arrest followed the discovery that they were behind the shipment of illicit substances for which three innocent Nigerians, who went on lesser hajj pilgrimage to the holy land, were being detained in Jeddah for alleged drug trafficking.

Babafemi said the suspects have been taken into custody.

Explaining how the syndicate implicated three unsuspecting pilgrims in drug trafficking allegations in Saudi, the NDLEA said following receipt of complaints by its Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig Gen Mohamed Marwa (retd) 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, an investigation was launched to unravel what happened.

The agency said the three Nigerians detained in Saudi: Mrs. Maryam Abdullahi; Mrs. Abdullahi Aminu; and Mr. Abdulhamid Saddiq boarded an Ethiopian Airline flight ET940, which departed Kano on August 6, 2025, to Jeddah enroute Addis-Ababa were unfortunate to be tagged with six additional bags not belonging to them, three of which were found to contain illicit drugs.

“Mrs. Abdullahi while embarking on this flight, only checked in one luggage weighing 9 kilograms on August 6, 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 Hussain’s complaint.”

The agency pointed out that its swift investigation revealed that “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.

“All the bags were traced to one Ali Mohammed (aka Bello Karama), 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.

“It is interesting to note that the said Ali Mohammed who also travelled to Jeddah on the same date boarded Egypt Air rather than Ethiopian Airline where he checked in his contaminated bags.

“The bags were tagged and checked in by members of staff of Skyway Aviation Handling Company who are also members of the criminal syndicate, to the names of the three complainants secretly and without their knowledge or consent.

“The bags illegally tagged against the complainants’ names are the ones intercepted in Saudi Arabia and found to contain the illicit drug substances.

“For the above reasons, the three complainants were arrested and detained for crimes they had no knowledge of. In the light of the forgoing, and the evidence gathered by the Agency in the course of our investigation.”

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