Ndlea arrests Sahco officials for the drug planting in Hajj Pilgrims’ luggage

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has discovered a criminal union that involves officials of the Nigerian aviation management company at the Mallam AMINU Kano International Airport, Kano, who presumably planted illegal drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting Nigerian pilgrims who travel to Saudi Arabia.

The agency spokesman, Femi Babafemi, revealed it in a press conference in Abuja on Monday, stating that the union activities led to the arrest and possession of three innocent Nigerians in Jeddah after having performed the Hajj Minor.

According to Babafemi, six suspicions have so far been arrested, with four already accused in court, including a 55 -year -old drug pivot, Mohammed Ali Abubakar, popularly known as Bello Karama. Others are Abdulbasit Adamu, Murtala Akande Olalekan and Celestina Yayock.

He explained that the victims – Maryam Abdullahi, Abdullahi Aminu and Abdulhamid Saddiq – rose aboard the Et940 Ethiopian airlines from Kano to Jeddah via Addis Ababa on August 6, 2025, unaware that six extra bags, three of which contained drugs, had been checked against their names.

“One of the victims, Maryam Abdullahi, checked only a nine kilograms bag. But its details were used to tag the additional luggage containing illegal drugs, leading to its arrest and continuous detention in Saudi Arabia,” Babafemi said.

He revealed that the investigations tracked down the bags to Bello Karama, who deliberately booked them on Ethiopian airlines under the names of the pilgrims while flew to Egypt himself.

Babafemi added that other suspicions, including Celestina Yayock and Jazuli Kabir, confessed to checking in bags for the union in exchange for N100,000 each.

The tests of bank transfers and confessional declarations, according to him, have been guaranteed.

The NDLEA spokesman declared that the arrests followed the petitions of the families of the detained pilgrims. He assured that the agency is working with the Saudi authorities to guarantee their liberation.

“The president of Ndlea, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd.), He is currently participating in an international conference on the control of drugs in which he will meet Saudi delegates to present our discoveries and the press for the release of the detained Nigerians,” said Babafemi.

The development has aroused indignation between the families of the victims, who appealed for an urgent intervention to save their relatives from an unjust punishment.

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