NDLEA Seizes ₦5bn Cocaine, Foils Drug Smuggling Across Borders

Barely two years after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency dismantled a cocaine trafficking network operating across Lagos and Ogun states, the agency has arrested another senior member of the syndicate who had remained in hiding since mid-2024.

NDLEA officers tracked down and arrested Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, identified as a key stash keeper for the cartel, at her residence in Lagos, where they recovered 23.50 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her children’s room.

The arrest followed sustained intelligence gathering and surveillance by NDLEA operatives determined to dismantle the trans-border drug trafficking organisation in its entirety. Investigators had identified Simbiat, aged 39, as a central figure responsible for storing large consignments of cocaine for onward distribution.

Officers trailed her movements and closed in on her home on Tuesday, 9 December 2025.

A thorough search of the premises led to the discovery of the cocaine hidden inside a black suitcase. Simbiat admitted ownership of the drugs, which authorities estimated to be worth over ₦5bn in street value.

The latest arrest connects directly to the earlier dismantling of the cartel led by Bolanle Lookman Dauda and his wife, Olayinka Toheebat Dauda. NDLEA operatives from a special operations unit arrested the couple on Saturday, 25 May 2024, at Ibiye along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway while they attempted to cross the land border to deliver cocaine to Ghana.

Officers intercepted 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms at the point of arrest.

A follow-up search of their residence at Plot 24/25, OPIC Extension, Petedo Road, Agbara, Ogun State, yielded an additional eight blocks weighing 10 kilograms, bringing the total seizure from the couple to 57.5 kilograms.

Beyond the cocaine syndicate, NDLEA operatives recorded multiple arrests and seizures across the country within the same period, targeting the trafficking of opioids and cannabis.

At the Terminal II departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, officers intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, on Thursday, 18 December, as he attempted to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy.

A search of his luggage revealed 1,020 pills of tramadol 225mg and tapentadol 200mg concealed among his belongings.

He disclosed that he expected to receive €200 for successfully delivering the drugs in Italy.

At the Seme border in the Badagry area of Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested a 48-year-old Beninese national, Leocardi Josu, on the same day while he attempted to enter Nigeria with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg.

Along the Okene–Lokoja highway, operatives apprehended Abdullahi Adamu, 30, on Friday, 19 December, with 28.400 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, as well as Colorado, a synthetic variant.

In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus marked XD 592 AWL along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday, 19 December. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection.

Earlier that week, on Wednesday, 17 December, officers arrested Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30, at Challenge Motor Park in Ibadan with 185.4 kilograms of skunk.

Further operations in Osun State resulted in the seizure of 405 kilograms of skunk during a raid on the Owena/Ijesha forest on Friday, 19 December. NDLEA officers arrested Charles James, 45, during the operation.

On the same day, operatives along the Abuja–Kaduna highway arrested Jamilu Zakari, 42, at a tollgate with 14,960 pills of tramadol 225mg. Officers concealed the opioids in two kolanut sacks transported from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers across the Special Operations Unit and the Lagos airport, Seme, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo, and Osun commands for the arrests and seizures.

He urged personnel nationwide to maintain heightened vigilance throughout the festive season and to uphold professionalism in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts beyond the period.