Two out of three pilgrims who were rescued from Saudi Arabia following their wrongful detention for possession of illicit drugs, Alhaja Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu and Alhaja Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, on Thursday visited the headquarters of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The pilgrims were detained over illicit drugs smuggled into their luggage by a drug syndicate in Nigeria but later released by the Saudi authorities following efforts spearheaded by the NDLEA.

At the headquarters, where they met the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), they expressed gratitude for the efforts to rescue them from the ordeal.

The three pilgrims were arrested in August, 2025, when their luggage was found to have contained illicit drugs smuggled into it by the syndicate.

The NDLEA had announced in September 2025 that the Saudi Arabian authorities had released three Nigerian pilgrims.

The spokesman of the Agency, Femi Babafemi, had told journalists that the three Nigerians freed after four weeks in custody are Mrs Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Mrs Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu and Mr Abdulhamid Saddieq.

He had said their release followed weeks of sustained engagements by Marwa with the leadership of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) in Saudi Arabia.

Babafemi said a syndicate operating at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport had tagged bags containing illicit drugs with the names of the three unsuspecting Nigerians, who travelled on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940, which departed Kano on August 6, 2025 to Jeddah for the lesser hajj.

The pilgrims were subsequently arrested in Saudi Arabia over alleged drug trafficking.

He said following complaints by the families of the detainees, Marwa ordered an investigation into the matter.

The probe led to the arrest of 55-year-old drug kingpin, Mohammed Ali Abubakar, also known as Bello Karama, and three other members of the syndicate, including airline officials behind the shipment of the illicit substances for which the three innocent pilgrims were detained in Jeddah.

Charges have since been filed against Abubakar and other members of the syndicate, Celestina Emmanuel Yayock, Abdulbasit Adamu Sagagi, and Jazuli Kabir, the Agency revealed. (The Nation)