The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a 55-year-old drug kingpin, Mohammed Ali Abubakar, known by the alias Bello Karama, and five of his syndicate members at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) for complicity in falsely incriminating three innocent Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia on charges of drug trafficking.
At a Monday press conference in Abuja, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi and senior agency officials revealed that investigations showed the syndicate brought six bags of the illicit drugs on three unsuspecting passengers Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Mrs. Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu, and Mr. Abdulhamid Saddiq who boarded Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET940 from Kano to Jeddah via Addis-Ababa on August 6, 2025.
Babafemi explained the extra bags were illicitly stenciled on the pilgrims by the workers of Skyway Aviation Handling Company, who were also part of the criminal gang. The pilgrims, who were arrested in Jeddah and are still detained, NDLEA followed the drugs to Abubakar and his accomplices.
“Six of the suspects are in detention, four have been charged to court and have made their confessional statements. Evidence, including money laundering, confirmed that the handlers were bribed to stamp the bags of illegal luggage to the pilgrims,” Babafemi explained.
He stressed that the arrested Nigerians were “victims of circumstance,” wrongly blamed by the criminal acts of the syndicate.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) is in negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) for the release of the detainees and also intends to visit Saudi authorities personally in a forthcoming international drug conference.
Babafemi ensured that even as the agency remained tough on drug trafficking, it would not let innocent Nigerians pay for offences they did not commit. He also hailed aviation and security stakeholders for collaborating with NDLEA to avert a repeat at MAKIA.
