Hajj 2024: NDLEA arrests intending pilgrims with cocaine consignments in Lagos

According to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, several aspiring pilgrims attending the current hajj in Saudi Arabia have been caught carrying cocaine consignments.

The accused were discovered swallowing wraps of cocaine prior to their departure to the holy land on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, when NDLEA agents searched the Emerald Hotel in the Ladipo neighborhood of Oshodi, Lagos State.

The agency reports that the following people were taken into custody during the intelligence-led operation: Usman Kamorudeen, age 31; Olasunkanmi Owolabi, age 46; Fatai Yekini, age 38; and a woman, Ayinla Kemi, age 34.

Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA, stated in a statement on Thursday that the four suspects were kept in two rooms at the hotel where they had prepared 200 pellets of cocaine weighing 2.20 kilograms to swallow when NDLEA officers stormed their rooms.

According to Babafemi, the two rooms had 100 wraps of the Class A material apiece, for a total seizure of 200 wraps. Each suspect was required to ingest 100 wraps.

In response to the event, the Agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), praised the men, officers, and commander of the Lagos State Command of the NDLEA, which carried out the operation.

According to Marwa, the organization will keep expanding its dragnet in an effort to locate, identify, and detain criminal leaders who might wish to go into hiding in order to carry out their evil plans that could harm the nation’s reputation.

The NDLEA boss also stated that “the agency will work with our counterparts in Saudi Arabia to ensure that the designated recipients of seized illicit drug consignments in any part of Saudi Arabia are also traced and dealt with accordingly.”

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