NDLEA declares Abba Kyari member of international drug cartel

Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Monday said the suspended top police officer Abba Kyari is a member of an international drug cartel.

NDLEA also declared Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police and former head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), wanted for pushing illicit drugs.

“With the intelligence at our disposal, the Agency believes strongly that DCP Kyari is a member of a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline, and he needs to answer questions that crop up in an ongoing drug case in which he is the principal actor. His failure to cooperate forced the hand of the Agency and that is the reason for this press briefing,” NDLEA spokesman told journalists in Abuja.

NDLEA explained that “Kyari initiated a call to one of the NDLEA officers in Abuja at 2:12 pm. When the officer returned the call two minutes later, Kyari informed him he was coming to see him, to discuss an operational matter after the Juma’at service.

“He proposed a drug deal whereby he and his team are to take 15kg of the cocaine and leave 10kg for the prosecution of the suspects arrested with the illicit drug in Enugu.

“In the meantime, the purloined cocaine will be replaced with a dummy worth 15kg. He asked the NDLEA officer to persuade men of the FCT Command, to play along as well.”

NDLEA said it has invited Kyari for questioning since concluding its investigation but the suspended police chief is yet to respond.

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Kyari was suspended by the police after United States’ FBI indicted him in the fraud case of a popular fraudster, Ramon Abbas, known as Hushpuppi.

United State authorities said Kyari was a conspirator with Hushpuppi in a $1.1 million deal to defraud a Qatari businessman.

READ MORE: U.S. authorities alleges Abba Kyari connived with Hushpuppi

Kyari is facing extradition to the United State for prosecution in the case.