NDLEA Busts Female Drug Kingpin, Seizes N5bn Cocaine In Lagos.

According to Nivo News, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a woman identified as Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat in Lagos after uncovering a large consignment of cocaine concealed within her residence.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The suspect was apprehended on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at her home on Onasanya Street in the Surulere area of Lagos, following months of intelligence gathering and close surveillance by anti-narcotics operatives. Investigations revealed that she is a prominent member of a drug trafficking syndicate with operations spanning multiple states and extending beyond Nigeria’s borders.

A thorough search of the residence led to the discovery of 23.50 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a black suitcase kept in her children’s room. The suspect reportedly admitted ownership of the illicit drugs, which the agency estimated to have a street value exceeding five billion naira.

Her arrest followed the earlier dismantling of the same trafficking network in May 2024, when operatives intercepted a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, along the Lagos–Badagry expressway while they attempted to cross into Ghana. A total of 47.5 kilograms of cocaine was recovered from them at the time, while a subsequent search of their residence in Agbara, Ogun State, yielded an additional ten kilograms, bringing the total seizure to 57.5 kilograms. Shodunke reportedly went into hiding after the operation before she was eventually tracked and arrested.

In a separate operation, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, intercepted a businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, at the Terminal II departure hall on Thursday, December 18, 2025. He was found in possession of 1,020 pills of tramadol and tapentadol concealed in his luggage while preparing to board a flight to Milan, Italy. The suspect allegedly disclosed that he was promised a payment of 200 euros upon successful delivery of the drugs.

Also on Thursday, operatives at the Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos, arrested a 48-year-old Beninese national, Leocardi Josu, with 3,400 tablets of tramadol while attempting to enter Nigeria. Along the Okene–Lokoja highway, a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, was arrested on Friday, December 19, with 28.4 kilograms of skunk and synthetic cannabis.

In Oyo State, NDLEA officers intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway on Friday, December 19, recovering 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection. Two other suspects, Ogunlade Kazeem and Adeleke Ismail, were earlier arrested in Ibadan with 185.4 kilograms of skunk at the Challenge motor park.

Meanwhile, operatives in Osun State raided the Owena/Ijesha forest, where 405 kilograms of skunk was seized, leading to the arrest of a 45-year-old suspect, Charles James, on Friday, December 19. On the same day, another suspect, Jamilu Zakari, was arrested along the Abuja–Kaduna highway with 14,960 pills of tramadol concealed inside sacks of kolanuts being transported from Abuja to Zamfara State.

Beyond arrests and seizures, the agency disclosed that it sustained its War Against Drug Abuse campaign nationwide over the past week, carrying out sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, transport hubs, and other public spaces across states including Anambra, Katsina, and Ekiti.

The NDLEA leadership commended officers involved in the various operations across Lagos, Ogun, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo, and Osun states, while urging personnel nationwide to remain vigilant and professional during the festive season as efforts continue to curb drug trafficking and abuse across the country.