Three Nigerian pilgrims accused of alleged drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia have been released.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced this at a presser on Wednesday.
The agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, explained that their release followed an engagement between the NDLEA and the Saudi government.
He said the three pilgrims would soon arrive in the country.
“Saudi Arabian authorities have released three Nigerian pilgrims who were detained in Jeddah since last month following their arrest over alleged drug trafficking.
“The three Nigerians who were freed from detention after four weeks in custody include Mrs Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Mrs Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu, and Mr Abdulhamid Saddieq,” said the spokesman.
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Babafemi, however, advised air passengers to always ensure the appropriate tagging of their luggage before departure to avoid being implicated by drug dealers.
In August, the NDLEA arrested a suspected drug kingpin and five members of his syndicate, accused of planting narcotics on innocent pilgrims travelling through the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), leading to the detention of three Nigerians in Saudi Arabia.
It said the syndicate, led by a 55-year-old man it identified as Mohammed Abubakar alias Bello Karama, was responsible for smuggling illicit substances aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940, which departed Kano on August 6 for Jeddah via Addis Ababa.
Those implicated by the syndicate included a 39-year-old mother of five, Maryam Hussaini; Mrs Abdullahi Aminu, and Abdulhamid Saddiq, all of whom are still being held by Saudi authorities on the allegation of drug trafficking.
NDLEA’s spokesperson said investigations revealed that the three pilgrims each checked in only one personal bag.
Babafemi said that members of the syndicate — in collusion with Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) staff — tagged six additional bags in the passengers’ names, three of which contained drugs.
“The bags containing narcotics were secretly tagged against the complainants’ names without their knowledge or consent,” he told reporters in Abuja.
He said that Karama travelled separately on Egypt Air, while his accomplices checked in the drug-laden luggage on Ethiopian Airlines.
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