The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 55-year-old drug kingpin, Mohammed Ali Abubakar, also known as Bello Karama, and five members of his syndicate over a plot that led to the detention of three innocent Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.
The NDLEA said the syndicate, operating from the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, secretly checked in bags of illicit drugs in the names of the pilgrims who had gone for lesser hajj.
At a press conference in Abuja on Monday, NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said, “Our investigation shows clearly that Mrs Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Mrs Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu and Mr Abdulhamid Saddiq, who are being detained in Jeddah, are victims of a criminal conspiracy.”
He explained, “The bags were traced to one Ali Abubakar Mohammed, alias Bello Karama, who checked them into Ethiopian Airlines on August 6, the same day the pilgrims travelled. Interestingly, while he planted the bags, he himself boarded Egypt Air to Jeddah.”
Babafemi said the suspects confessed. “Ali admitted bringing in seven luggage. Celestina Emmanuel Yayock confessed to checking in two of them for one hundred thousand naira. Another suspect, Jazuli Kabir, admitted collecting one hundred thousand naira to check in two other bags. We have the transfer receipts.”
Six suspects are in custody. Four, including Bello Karama, have been charged in court.
The NDLEA said its chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), will meet Saudi narcotics authorities to secure the release of the pilgrims. “If required, the CCEO is prepared to travel to Saudi Arabia personally to pursue this matter to its conclusion,” Babafemi said.
He added, “Nigeria will never abandon its citizens. While there are no sacred cows in our enforcement duties, we will not support the innocent being punished for crimes they did not commit.”