By Kamil Opeyemi
The Kano State Police Command has arrested three suspects for allegedly facilitating the trafficking of substance suspected to be cocaine to Saudi Arabia.
This is contained in a statement issued by the command’s Public Relation Officer, SP Abdullahi Kiyawa, in Kano on Friday.
Kiyawa said that on Aug. 11, at about 12:00 hours, one Auwal Ishaq of Kawo Quarters, and Idris Sani Suleiman of Medile Quarters, Kano, jointly reported the suspects to the police.
He said that the duo was contacted in June by one Hajiya Sharifat Abdullahi of Kuregen Sani Hotoro, Kano, to allow their wives to travel through international routes via Lagos Airport Terminal to Saudi Arabia.
According to him, Auwal Ishaq claimed that he paid the sum of N6 million for his two wives, while Idris Sani Suleiman also claimed to had paid N3 million for his wife to perform Hajj exercise.
He said that this was with an arrangement that their respective wives would convey some undisclosed substance from their link at Lagos Airport to someone at the airport in Saudi Arabia.
The PRO said that both complainants became worried when after the departure of the women, they lost contact with them and all efforts to reach them proved abortive.
He added that this prompted them to visit the command to lay complaint.
“So, on Aug. 11, Auwal came to Police with disturbing information he received through a phone call from one of his wive’s that after the completion of the Hajj exercise, they were arrested by the Saudi Arabian Authority for offences bothering on trafficking in substance suspected to be Cocaine,” he said.
He added that police investigation led to the arrest of the principal suspect; Sharifat Abdullahi, who confessed that the complainants were part of the arrangement and were aware that their wives would be used as couriers of the said undisclosed contents to be delivered to a lady at the Airport in Saudi Arabia.
According to her, the two wives of the first complainant were promised N1 million each on return from the trip, while the second complainant was promised N150,000 for playing the middleman.
“She also confessed to have been conspiring with the second complainant in recruiting people for the said Kano based cartel of human/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 (NDLEA) for the completion of the investigation.