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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 39-year-old female kingpin and leader of a syndicate, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, who had been underground since May 2024.
She was arrested in her Lagos home where an additional 23.50 kilograms of the class A drug were recovered from her children’s room.
Her arrest came 20 months after a cocaine trafficking cartel led by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, was smashed in Lagos and Ogun State by operatives of the Agency with multi-billion-naira worth of the illicit drug recovered from them.
The kingpin Lookman and his wife Toheebat were arrested on Saturday, 25 May 2024, by operatives of a special operations unit of NDLEA at Ibiye, along Lagos-Badagry Expressway while attempting to cross the land border to deliver the consignment in Ghana.
At the point of their arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms were found on them.
A swift follow-up operation in their residence at Plot 24/25 OPIC extension, Petedo road, Agbara, Ogun State, led to the recovery of additional eight blocks of the same drug weighing 10kg, bringing the total weight of the consignment seized from the couple to 57.5 kilograms.
A statement by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said, determined to rein in every member of the syndicate, the NDLEA operatives continued with follow-up intelligence and surveillance on the trans-border drug trafficking organisation until a 39-year-old female stash keeper, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, was identified as a key member of the DTO.
As a result, she was trailed to her 31 Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos residence on Tuesday, 9 December 2025.
A thorough search of her home led to the discovery of blocks of cocaine weighing 23.50 kilograms concealed in a black suitcase recovered from her children’s room. She admitted ownership of the drug consignment worth over N5 billion in street value.
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Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives attached to Terminal II departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos on Thursday, 18 December intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, with a total of 1,020 pills of tramadol 225mg and tapentadol 200mg concealed in his luggage while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy where he is based.
He claimed the successful trafficking of the opioids to Italy would have fetched him two hundred euros (€200.00) from the person he was to deliver them to.
At the Seme border in Badagry area of Lagos, a 48-year-old Beninoise, Leocardi Josu, was on Thursday, 18 December arrested by NDLEA officers while attempting to cross into Nigeria with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg, even as a suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, 30, was nabbed along Okene/Lokoja highway with 28.400kg skunk, a strain of cannabis and Colorado, a synthetic cannabis on Friday, 19 December.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives on Friday, 19 December recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection in a Toyota Hiace bus marked XD 592 AWL along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, while two suspects, Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30, were arrested with 185.4 kilograms of skunk at Challenge motor park, Ibadan, on Wednesday, 17 December.
A total of 405kg skunk was seized when NDLEA operatives raided Owena/Ijesha forest in Osun State where a suspect, Charles James, 45, was nabbed on Friday, 19 December, while another suspect, Jamilu Zakari, 42, was arrested with 14,960 pills of tramadol 225mg at tollgate, along Abuja-Kaduna highway same day.
The consignment of opioids was concealed in two kolanut sacks coming from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.
Across all Commands and formations of the Agency nationwide, NDLEA officers continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities among others in the past week.
These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of secondary schools in Anambra at Women Development Centre, Awka; Youth Craft Village, Malumfashi, Katsina and members of NURTW in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, among others.
While commending the officers and men of the Special Operations Unit, MMIA, Seme, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo and Osun Commands for the arrests, seizures and their dexterity, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to remain extra vigilant during the festive season and ensure that the highest standard of professionalism is maintained in all their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities all through the period and beyond.
