NDLEA arrests 6 airport workers who led to detention of 3 innocent Nigerians in Saudi Arabia
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested six drug dealers behind the shipment of illicit substances for which three innocent Nigerians who went on lesser hajj were detained in Saudi Arabia.
Those arrested were 55-year-old drug kingpin Mohammed Ali Abubakar alias Bello Karama, Abdulbasit Adamu, Murtala Akande Olalekan, Jazuli Kabir and Celestina Emmanuel Yayock. They belong to the drug trafficking syndicate operating at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) Kano.
This was disclosed at a press conference addressed by the Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi along with the Director of Assets and Financial Investigation, Dr. Abdul Ibrahim and Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo, on Monday in Abuja.
The Agency said it waded into the matter when families of the detained pilgrims lodged a complain about their detention after completing the pilgrimage.
The Agency said the three Nigerians detained in Saudi Arabia – Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Mrs. Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu and Mr. Abdulhamid Saddiq – boarded an Ethiopian Airline flight ET940 which departed Kano on 6th August 2025 to Jeddah enroute Addis-Ababa, during which their actual bags were tagged with six additional bags not belonging to them. Three of the strange bags contained illicit drugs.
“Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi while embarking on this flight, only checked in one luggage weighing 9 kilograms 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 16th August, a day before the date of their departure from Jeddah which was to be on the 17th day of August, 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 Agency stated.
It revealed that a swift investigation conducted led to the arrest of the illicit drugs syndicate.
“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 Abubakar Mohammed (aka Bello Karama), the leader of the syndicate who checked them into the Ethiopian Airline on the 6th day of August 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 Abubakar 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, it is clear that Mrs. Maryam Abdullahi and two others who are being detained in Saudi are victims of circumstance, implicated by the activities of a criminal syndicate operating at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.”
According to the NDLEA, all the arrested suspects have made confessional statements.
“They have all made confessional statements. While Ali had admitted bringing in seven luggage, 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. We have the receipts for the transfer of N200,000 from Ali to Celestina who in turn transferred N100,000 to Jazuli.”
It said based on the outcome of the investigations it is spearheading a dialogue with Saudi Arabia authorities to get the three innocent Nigerians released.
In this respect, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gen Buba Marwa retired, is presently on his way to attend an International Drug Conference which will be attended by a delegation from the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) of Saudi Arabia.
“He intends to meet one on one with them to present our findings and seek the cooperation of our Saudi counterparts in ensuring that Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, and the two others who remain stranded in the Kingdom, get the justice they deserve.
“If required, the CEO is also prepared to travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia personally to pursue this matter to its conclusion”, Babafemi stated while assuring that Nigeria will never abandon its citizens, especially when the facts clearly show that they are victims of criminal conspiracies.”
