3 pilgrims get arrested for suspected drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia

The 2016 Hajj pilgrims left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia on August 8, 2016.

In less than two weeks, three people, from Kwara, have been arrested for alleged possession of a white substance, suspected to be cocaine, PM News reports.

The Executive Secretary of Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Hajia Fatima Abolore-Jimoh, confirmed the arrest in a telephone interview.

According to her, the local authorities will certainly be hard on these suspects, because the country has one of the toughest laws on drug trafficking.

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This law, which is a strict version of Islamic sharia law, states that rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all grounds for death by beheading.

She also described the arrest of the three unidentified pilgrims, as unfortunate and painful, due to the several appeals from Nigerian leaders to be good ambassadors of their states and country.

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Abolore-Jimoh revealed that the traffickers, who were arrested by security operatives, were among the first batch of 505 Pilgrims from Kwara state.

Concerning other 1,975 Kwara state pilgrims, she said they were all fine.