The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested another key member of a cocaine trafficking syndicate dismantled in Lagos and Ogun states last year, following months of intelligence-led surveillance.
In a statement, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, said operatives recently nabbed 39-year-old Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, who had gone into hiding after the arrest of the cartel leaders in May 2024.
She was tracked to her residence in Surulere, Lagos, where a search uncovered 23.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a suitcase kept in her children’s room.
Mr. Babafemi said the suspect admitted ownership of the drugs, estimated to be worth over ₦5 billion in street value.
The agency recalled that the syndicate’s leaders, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and his wife, Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, were arrested in May 2024 along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway while attempting to move cocaine across the border to Ghana.
A total of 57.5 kilograms of cocaine was recovered from them and their residence in Ogun State.
The NDLEA spokesman added that in separate operations across the country, NDLEA officers intercepted a businessman at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, with over 1,000 pills of tramadol and tapentadol concealed in his luggage, and arrested a Beninoise national at the Seme border with thousands of tramadol tablets.
Other operations in Kogi, Oyo, Osun and along the Abuja–Kaduna highway led to the seizure of large quantities of cannabis and opioids, with several suspects taken into custody.
According to the NDLEA, the arrests and seizures underscore the agency’s resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks and prevent illicit drugs from circulating within and beyond Nigeria.
Reporting By Nosa Aituamen