The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 55-year-old suspected drug kingpin and five members of his syndicate at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.

The arrest followed the detention of three Nigerians in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after illicit drug consignments were secretly tagged to their names.

At a press briefing on Monday in Abuja, NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi explained that the families of the detained pilgrims had complained to the agency’s chairman, Buba Marwa, that their relatives had been detained in Jeddah for alleged drug trafficking during their lesser hajj.

Mr Babafemi addressed the press alongside the Director of Assets and Financial Investigation, Abdul Ibrahim, and the Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo.

He said the detainees, Maryam Abdullahi, Abdullahi Aminu, and Abdulhamid Saddiq, travelled aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 from Kano to Jeddah via Addis Ababa on August 6.

According to him, the suspects were implicated when six additional bags not belonging to them were checked in against their names, with three of the bags later found to contain illicit drugs.

Mr Babafemi explained that Ms Abdullahi had only checked in one 9kg bag, which failed to arrive with her in Jeddah.

He said the luggage was later delivered on August 16, a day before her scheduled return on August 17, when she was detained. Mr Babafemi added that the same pattern applied to the two other complainants.

”NDLEA’s swift investigation revealed that the bags intercepted in Saudi Arabia were checked in against the complainants’ names by members of a criminal syndicate operating at MAKIA, without their knowledge.

”The bags were traced to the syndicate leader, who checked them into Ethiopian Airlines on August 6, while he himself travelled to Jeddah on Egypt Air with three other bags,” he said.

The NDLEA spokesman said the bags were illegally tagged by staff of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company, who were part of the syndicate.

”The six suspects are in NDLEA custody, with four of them already charged to court and awaiting arraignment,” Mr Babafemi said.

According to Mr Babafemi, the leader of the syndicate admitted to bringing in seven bags, while one of the suspects confessed to checking in two of them for a fee of N100,000, and another admitted to checking in two bags for the same fee.

Mr Babafemi said the NDLEA had also obtained receipts showing the transfer of N200,000 from the syndicate leader to the two suspects.

He added that the agency was already engaging with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) in Saudi Arabia to secure justice for the three pilgrims.

The NDLEA spokesman assured Nigerians that the agency would not allow its citizens to suffer unjustly for crimes they did not commit.

He commended the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, the managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Aviation Security (AVSEC), and the State Security Service (SSS) for their collaboration and interim measures introduced at MAKIA to prevent a recurrence. 

(NAN)