Operatives of the Kano Police Command have arrested two men and a woman for being complicit in the trafficking of cocaine to Saudi Arabia.
The state Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Kiyawa, said that upon investigation, it was found out that the two men were part of a courier arrangement in which their wives were detailed to deliver some quantities of cocaine to a certain lady at a Saudi Arabian airport.
In a statement shared on their verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday in Kano, Kiyawa said that one Auwal Ishaq of Kawo Quarters and Idris Sani Suleiman of Medile Quarters Kano jointly reported the female suspect, Hajiya Sharifat Abdullahi of Kuregen Sani Hotoro, Kano, to the police.
Kiyawa, in the statement, said Ishaq claimed to have paid N6 million on behalf of his two wives, while Suleiman also claimed to have paid N3 million for his wife to be part of the pilgrimage.
The police spokesman said that the three women headed for the Hajj on the understanding that they would assist in conveying some undisclosed substance, suspected to be cocaine, to Saudi Arabia.
The police spokesman said that both complainants became worried when, after the departure of their wives to the Holy Land, they lost contact with them and all efforts to reach them proved abortive.
He added that this prompted them to file complaints with the police command.
The statement said, “On 11/07/2023 at about 1200 hrs, one Auwal Ishaq, ’M’, of Kawo Quarters and Idris Sani Suleiman, ’M’, of Medile Quarters, Kano, jointly reported to police that they were contacted in June 2023 by one Hajiya Sharifat Abdullahi, ’f’, of Kuregen Sani Hotoro, Kano, to allow their wives to travel through international routes via Lagos Airport Terminal.
“At the initial complaint, Auwal Ishaq claimed that he paid the sum of six million naira (N6,000,000:00) for his two wives, Binta Nasidi and Zulaihat Ahmed Adam, while Idris Sani Suleiman also claimed to have paid three million naira (N3,000,000:00) for his one wife, Rashida Abdullahi, on an agreement for travelling together to perform pilgrimage rites with the arrangement that they would convey some undisclosed substance from their link at Lagos Airport to someone at the airport in Saudi Arabia.”
He added that police investigation led to the arrest of the principal suspect, Abdullahi, who eventually confessed that the two complainants, Ishaq and Suleiman, were also part of the deal and were well aware that their wives would be used as drug couriers.
Abdullahi told the police that the three women were detailed to deliver the substance to a certain lady who would be awaiting them at a Saudi Arabian airport.
According to the police spokesman, Ishaq’s two wives were promised N1 million each on their return from the trip, while Suleiman’s wife was promised N150,000 for playing the middleman role.
“She (Abdullahi) also confessed to having been conspiring with the second complainant (Suleiman) in recruiting people for a Kano-based cartel of human and drug traffickers.
“Consequently, the two complainants became accused persons and were both arrested”, Kiyawa said.
Meanwhile, the command has transferred the case to the state office of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to complete the investigation. OYO NEWS