Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a female drug kingpin in Lagos, recovering 23.50 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her children’s room, as the Agency intensified nationwide operations that also led to the interception of Italy-bound opioids and the arrest of several suspects across the country.
The suspect, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, identified as a key member of a cocaine trafficking syndicate, was apprehended at her residence on Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, following months of intelligence-led surveillance.
The Director of Media and Advocacy of the anti-narcotic agency, Femi Babafemi disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
Simbiat’s arrest comes 20 months after NDLEA dismantled a cocaine cartel led by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, in Lagos and Ogun states.
The couple were arrested on Saturday, 25 May 2024, by operatives of the NDLEA Special Operations Unit at Ibiye, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, while attempting to cross the land border to deliver cocaine to Ghana. At the point of arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5kg were recovered.
A follow-up search of their residence at Plot 24/25, OPIC Extension, Petedo Road, Agbara, Ogun State, led to the recovery of eight additional blocks of cocaine weighing 10kg, bringing the total seizure from the couple to 57.5kg.
Determined to dismantle the entire syndicate, NDLEA operatives sustained intelligence and surveillance operations, which revealed Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, 39, as a major stash keeper for the cartel. She was trailed to her residence on Tuesday, 9 December 2025, where a thorough search uncovered 23.50kg of cocaine hidden inside a black suitcase in her children’s room.
She confessed ownership of the drug consignment, estimated to be worth over ₦5 billion in street value.
Meanwhile, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, NDLEA operatives at Terminal II intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, on Thursday, 18 December, while attempting 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 inside. The suspect claimed he would have earned €200 for delivering the drugs in Italy.
At the Seme border, NDLEA officers arrested a 48-year-old Beninoise, Leocardi Josu, on the same day while attempting to smuggle 3,400 tablets of tramadol (225mg) into Nigeria.
In Kogi State, a suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, 30, was arrested along the Okene–Lokoja highway on Friday, 19 December, with 28.4kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection from a Toyota Hiace bus marked XD 592 AWL along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday, 19 December. Earlier, on Wednesday, 17 December, two suspects — Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30 — were arrested at Challenge Motor Park, Ibadan, with 185.4kg of skunk.
In Osun State, a raid on Owena/Ijesha forest led to the seizure of 405kg of skunk and the arrest of Charles James, 45, on Friday, 19 December. On the same day, NDLEA operatives arrested Jamilu Zakari, 42, 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.
Across all commands nationwide, NDLEA officers also intensified the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities. Recent engagements included enlightenment lectures at secondary schools in Anambra State, the Women Development Centre, Awka, Youth Craft Village, Malumfashi, Katsina State, and outreach to members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, among others.
Commending officers of the Special Operations Unit, MMIA, Seme, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo and Osun Commands for their professionalism and operational success, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel nationwide to remain extra vigilant during the festive season and uphold the highest standards of professionalism in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
