BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 55-year-old suspected drug kingpin, Mohammed Ali Abubakar, also known as Bello Karama, and five members of his syndicate operating at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.
Their arrest follows the discovery that the cartel was behind the illicit drug shipments that led to the wrongful detention of three unsuspecting Nigerians in Saudi Arabia.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, August 25, 2025, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, alongside the Director of Assets and Financial Investigation, Dr. Abdul Ibrahim, and the Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo, disclosed that the arrests came after an intensive investigation launched in response to complaints received by the Agency’s Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd).
The families of the three Nigerians — Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Mrs. Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu, and Mr. Abdulhamid Saddiq — had reported to the NDLEA that their relatives were being detained in Jeddah after performing the lesser hajj pilgrimage, accused of trafficking illicit drugs into Saudi Arabia.
According to Babafemi, the three boarded Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 from Kano to Jeddah via Addis Ababa on August 6, 2025, only to discover that six additional pieces of luggage had been secretly tagged in their names.
Three of the bags were later found to contain illicit substances.
“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,” Babafemi explained.
NDLEA’s investigation revealed that the illicit bags were checked in by members of a criminal syndicate at MAKIA without the pilgrims’ knowledge or consent.
“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,” the Agency said.
Interestingly, while the three pilgrims were being implicated, the syndicate leader himself boarded an entirely different airline.
“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 Agency added.
Babafemi revealed that the operation involved staff of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL), who were also part of the syndicate.
These staff secretly tagged the drug-laden bags in the pilgrims’ names, leading to their arrest and detention in Jeddah.
The NDLEA confirmed that six suspects are now in custody, with four already charged to court awaiting arraignment.
They include Ali Abubakar Mohammed (Bello Karama), Abdulbasit Adamu, Murtala Akande Olalekan, and Celestina Emmanuel Yayock.
“They have all made confessional statements. While Ali 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,” Babafemi disclosed.
He added that investigators had obtained financial records showing transfers of N200,000 from Ali to Celestina, who in turn paid Jazuli N100,000.
In light of the findings, NDLEA said it is now engaging with Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) to ensure the three Nigerians are exonerated.
“The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Agency 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), who he intends to meet one on one, 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 CCEO is also prepared to travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia personally to pursue this matter to its conclusion,” Babafemi said.
The NDLEA stressed that while its fight against drug trafficking remains uncompromising, it will not allow innocent Nigerians to suffer unjustly.
“While there are no sacred cows in our enforcement duties which can be attested to by the number of high-profile arrests, seizures, convictions and forfeitures recorded, it will not support the innocent being punished for crimes they did not commit,” Babafemi stated.
He commended the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Aviation Security Service (AVSEC), and the Department of State Services (DSS) for their collaboration and for approving interim measures at MAKIA to prevent a recurrence of such criminal activities.
The NDLEA, he assured, remains committed to fighting substance abuse and illicit trafficking while protecting law-abiding citizens from falling victim to criminal conspiracies.
