The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 55-year-old suspected drug kingpin and five members of his syndicate at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.

The arrest followed the detention of three innocent Nigerians in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after illicit drug consignments were secretly tagged to their names.

The Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Femi Babafemi disclosed this during at a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.

Babafemi who addressed the press alongside the Director of Assets and Financial Investigation, Dr Abdul Ibrahim, and the Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Mrs Theresa Asuquo, said that the case came to light after complaint from families of three pilgrims to the NDLEA Chairman, retired, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa.

He explained that the families of the detained pilgrims had complained to NDLEA chairman that their relatives had been detained in Jeddah for alleged drug trafficking during their lesser hajj.

He said the detainees, Mrs Maryam Abdullahi, Mrs Abdullahi Aminu and Mr Abdulhamid Saddiq, travelled aboard Ethiopian Airline flight ET940 from Kano on Aug. 6 to Jeddah via Addis Ababa.

According to him, the suspects were implicated when six additional bags not belonging to them were checked in against their names, with three of the bags later found to contain illicit drugs.

Babafemi explained that Abdullahi had only checked in one 9kg bag which failed to arrive with her in Jeddah.

He said that the luggage was later delivered on Aug. 16, a day before her scheduled return on Aug. 17, when she was detained, adding that same pattern applied to the two other complainants.

”NDLEA’s swift investigation revealed that the bags intercepted in Saudi Arabia were checked in against the complainants’ names by members of a criminal syndicate operating at MAKIA, without their knowledge.

”The bags were traced to the syndicate leader, who checked them into Ethiopian Airline on Aug. 6, while he himself travelled to Jeddah on Egypt Air with three other bags,” he said.

The NDLEA spokesman said that the bags were illegally tagged by staff of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company, who was part of the syndicate.