In a significant bust, a 55-year-old drug kingpin, Mohammed Ali Abubakar, also known as Bello Karama, and five members of his syndicate have been arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) stated that the syndicate was responsible for shipping illicit substances that led to the detention of three Nigerian pilgrims in Jeddah on drug trafficking charges.
Persecondnews reports that the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, announced the arrests at a press briefing held on Monday, August 25, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
He was joined by Dr. Abdul Ibrahim, Director of Assets and Financial Investigation, and Theresa Asuquo, Director of Prosecution and Legal Services.
He said the investigation began after the Chairman/CEO of the NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa, received complaints from the families of the three detained pilgrims.
The families had approached the agency regarding the detention of their family members in Saudi Arabia after completing their lesser hajj pilgrimage on allegations of trafficking illicit substances.
The agency said the three Nigerians detained in Saudi – Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu, and Abdulhamid Saddiq – boarded Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940, which departed Kano on August 6 for Jeddah en route to Addis Ababa.
Unfortunately, they were tagged with six additional bags not belonging to them, three of which were found to contain illicit drugs.
Babafemi said: “Maryam Hussain Abdullahi while embarking on this flight, only checked in one luggage weighing 9 kilograms on August 6, which incidentally did not arrive with her to her destination.
“Her husband was only informed of the arrival of their luggage on August 16, a day before the date of their departure from Jeddah which was to be on August 17.
“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 said its swift investigation revealed that “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 MAKIA 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 August 6, 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 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.”
The agency said six members of the syndicate are already in its custody, with four having been charged to court pending arraignment, including Ali Abubakar Mohammed (aka Bello Karama), Abdulbasit Adamu, Murtala Akande Olalekan, and Celestina Emmanuel Yayock.
It said: “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.”
The NDLEA said that, based on the outcome of its investigations, it is spearheading a dialogue with the authorities of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) in Saudi Arabia to ensure the exoneration of the three innocent Nigerians.
“As a result, 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 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 stated while assuring that Nigeria will never abandon its citizens, especially when the facts clearly show that they are victims of criminal conspiracies.
The agency assured the public of its commitment to fighting the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country, adding that, while there are no sacred cows in its enforcement duties – as evidenced 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.
He said: “While investigations continue, the CCEO will like to appreciate the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, the Managing Director of FAAN, the AVSEC and the DSS for their collaboration on this case and for the interim measures that have been approved in MAKIA to prevent a reoccurrence of this type of situation.”
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