NDLEA Nabs Female Drug Kingpin with N5bn Cocaine in Lagos, Foils Italy-Bound Opioid Trafficking
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a female drug kingpin, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, and recovered 23.50 kilograms of cocaine worth over ₦5 billion from her residence in Surulere, Lagos, in a major breakthrough against an international drug trafficking syndicate.
The arrest came twenty months after NDLEA dismantled a cocaine trafficking cartel led by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, who were apprehended in May 2024 while attempting to traffic cocaine across the Nigeria–Ghana border.
According to the agency, Simbiat, identified as a key stash keeper of the syndicate, had gone underground following the arrest of the cartel leaders. She was eventually tracked to her residence at 31 Onasanya Street, Surulere, where NDLEA operatives arrested her on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. A search of her home led to the discovery of blocks of cocaine weighing 23.50kg concealed in a black suitcase kept in her children’s room. She reportedly confessed to owning the illicit drugs.
The syndicate was first exposed on Saturday, May 25, 2024, when NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit arrested Lookman Dauda and his wife, Toheebat, at Ibiye along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway as they attempted to cross the land border to Ghana. Forty-two blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5kg were recovered from them. A follow-up search of their residence at OPIC Extension, Agbara, Ogun State, yielded an additional 10kg, bringing the total seizure from the couple to 57.5kg.
In a related development, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, at the Terminal II departure hall on Thursday, December 18, while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy. He was found with 1,020 pills of tramadol 225mg and tapentadol 200mg concealed in his luggage. The suspect reportedly claimed he would have earned €200 for successfully delivering the opioids in Italy.
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Similarly, at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 48-year-old Beninoise national, Leocardi Josu, on Thursday, December 18, while attempting to smuggle 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg into Nigeria.
In Kogi State, a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, was arrested along the Okene–Lokoja highway on Friday, December 19, with 28.4kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and Colorado, a synthetic variant of the drug.
NDLEA operations in Oyo State also recorded significant seizures. On Friday, December 19, officers intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway and recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection. Earlier, on Wednesday, December 17, two suspects, Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30, were arrested at Challenge Motor Park, Ibadan, with 185.4kg of skunk.
In Osun State, NDLEA operatives raided the Owena/Ijesha forest and seized 405kg of skunk, arresting a 45-year-old suspect, Charles James, on Friday, December 19. On the same day, another suspect, Jamilu Zakari, 42, was arrested at a tollgate along the Abuja–Kaduna highway with 14,960 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two kola nut sacks en route from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.
Beyond enforcement, the agency said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across the country during the week. These included enlightenment lectures in secondary schools and community centres in Anambra, Katsina and Ekiti states, as well as engagements with transport workers and youth groups.
Commending the officers involved in the arrests and seizures, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the professionalism and vigilance of personnel across the Special Operations Unit, MMIA, Seme, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo and Osun Commands. He urged them to remain extra vigilant during the festive season and to maintain the highest standards in both drug supply and drug demand reduction efforts nationwide.
The NDLEA reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks and protecting communities from the dangers of illicit drugs.
By PRNigeria
