A 55-year-old drug kingpin Mohammed Ali Abubakar alias Bello Karama and five members of a syndicate operating at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) Kano have been taken into custody by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for the arrest of three innocent Nigerians in Saudi Arabia.
The Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a press conference today said this followed the discovery that they were behind the shipment of illicit substances for which the three innocent Nigerians who went on lesser hajj pilgrimage to the holy land were being detained in Jeddah for alleged drug trafficking.
Addressing journalists along with the Director of Assets and Financial Investigation, Dr. Abdul Ibrahim and Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo, at the NDLEA National Headquarters in Abuja, Babafemi explained how the syndicate implicated three unsuspecting pilgrims in drug trafficking allegations in Saudi.
He stated following receipt of complaints by its Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) from three Nigerian families over the detention of their family members in Saudi Arabia after the completion of their lesser hajj pilgrimage on an allegation of trafficking in illicit substances into Saudi Arabia, an investigation was launched to unravel what happened.
The Agency said the three Nigerians detained in Saudi: 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 were unfortunate to be tagged with six additional bags not belonging to them, three of which were found to contain illicit drugs.
The Agency said six members of the syndicate are already in its custody with four already charged to court awaiting arraignment including Ali Abubakar Mohammed (aka Bello Karama); Abdulbasit Adamu, Murtala Akande Olalekan and Celestina Emmanuel Yayock.
Babafemi said that they have all made confessional statements. Ali had admitted bringing in seven luggage, another N100,000 was checked as confessed by Celestina and another suspect Jazuli Kabir who checked in two other bags admitted collected 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 NATION.