Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd.), revealed on Wednesday that two individuals were recently arrested for ingesting cocaine while allegedly preparing to travel to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Speaking at the opening session of the Ministerial Committee on Drug Use Control, Marwa disclosed that the suspects had posed as devout Muslims undertaking a spiritual journey to the holy land.
“Just a few days ago, we apprehended two intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia who had swallowed cocaine. They claimed to be going for Hajj,” he said.
Marwa voiced concern over the persistent use of the Hajj season by drug trafficking networks to smuggle narcotics across borders, describing the trend as both troubling and recurrent.
“We’ve seen it repeatedly happen where unsuspecting people are deceived under the pretext of Hajj travel. Two years ago, three women were defrauded. Some people offered to pay for their tickets, visas, and other logistics. Before departure, they were handed a small bag to deliver to someone believed to be a relative in Saudi Arabia — someone they had never met. Cocaine was sewn into the bag,” Marwa recounted.
Despite challenges, including limited funding that has affected the full execution of the National Drug Control Master Plan (2021–2025), the NDLEA remains committed to its core mandate of combating drug trafficking and abuse.
