The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has revealed that the suspended Head of Police Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, belongs to a notorious drug syndicate that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.
The agency revealed this at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, February 14, 2022.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the agency, Femi Babafemi, Abba Kyari tried to negotiate the release of 25kg of cocaine that was seized from a suspect in Enugu State.
According to Babafemi, the saga started in January 2022 when Kyari contacted the officer in charge of the case. At a private place, they met and the suspended police officer talked about getting 15kg of the 25kg of cocaine back.
The remaining 10kg will be used to prosecute the suspects arrested and it will be released later.
The NDLEA officer informed his superior, and he got the green light to play along with Abba Kyari.
According to the report, Abba Kyari proposed that he take 10kg of the drug while the NDLEA officer would go with 5kg.
At N7m per kilogram, the proceeds from the 5kg would amount to N35m at the exchange rate of N570 per dollar, which is the black market rate for the day, January 24, 2022. In effect, he would be delivering $61,400 to the NDLEA team.
After days of negotiation, they finally met in Abuja when the deal was done. The NDLEA officer received the cash in his car, where a camera and voice recorder had been secretly planted.
After the deal had been successful, Abba Kyari was invited for questioning at the NDLEA officer in Abuja, but he refused to show up at the end of working hours on Friday, February 11, 2022. The agency has declared him wanted after he refused to show up for interrogation.
Recall that Kyari was suspended from service in 2021 due to a bribery allegation levelled against him by Abbas Ramoni, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
