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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted cocaine consignments concealed in tins of palm kernel extract heading to the United Kingdom after successfully dismantling a drug trafficking syndicate.
The breakthrough followed a high-stakes, intelligence-led operation that lasted three weeks. During the operation, the warehouse where the shipments were packaged was raided, while all three layers of the group were unravelled, leading to the arrest of the kingpin.
According to a statement issued yesterday by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the breakthrough began on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, when NDLEA officers of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Strategic Command, Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine at the export shed of the airport.
The illicit substance was meticulously hidden inside tins of palm kernel extract intended for shipment to the UK.
Two suspects handling the shipment, Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin, were promptly arrested.
To unravel the sender and the arrowhead of the drug syndicate, a well-coordinated sting operation was carried out on Thursday, April 2, leading to the arrest of the sender of the consignment, Ezemuwo Joel, who operated under a fake identity as Ajayi. His arrest provided the link to the syndicate’s head, 52-year-old Kings Arinze, who was flushed out of a hideout in the Isolo area of Lagos.
He was thereafter taken to his warehouse at 11, Ola Ifa Street, Bucknor, Isolo, where NDLEA operatives recovered 886 tins of palm kernel extract prepared for drug concealment; industrial tools, including a sealing machine and tin openers; paint sprays; 52 grams of cannabis sativa; and a pack of hand gloves.
Arinze has since confessed to personally draining the oil from the tins to conceal the cocaine.
In a separate but equally significant operation in Borno State, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, April 1, intercepted a female drug supplier to bandit groups operating between the North-East and Chad, 28-year-old Aisha Adamu.
She was arrested along Gamboru Ngala Road in possession of 4.3 kilograms of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
Meanwhile, the pastor in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Sakpo area of Seme border, Badagry in Lagos State, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu, 45, and his wife, Mrs Success Hodonu, 35, were arrested on Thursday, April 2, by NDLEA operatives at Gbaji checkpoint.
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A search of their Honda Pilot SUV led to the recovery of blocks of skunk weighing 11kg, concealed in hidden parts of their vehicle. The arrest of the couple followed the apprehension of a fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, 35, at the same checkpoint on Monday, March 30, while conveying 24.5kg of skunk from the Seme border to Lagos.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers on patrol along Namtari Road, Yola South, on Monday, March 30, intercepted a trailer marked RUW 947 XA transporting 48,000 pills of tramadol.
The truck driver, Abdulaziz Ismail Korede, was arrested, while a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the recipient, Idris Adamu.
While 60-year-old Idiatu Oladejo was arrested with 15kg of skunk in Isale Osun, Osogbo, Osun State, on Wednesday, April 1, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence raided the Itaogbolu forest, Akure, Ondo State, where they recovered 351 kilograms of skunk and its seeds.
No fewer than 28,600 capsules of tramadol were seized from a 66-year-old, Aminu Usman Gembu, when he was arrested at Aliade, Benue State, on Wednesday, April 1.
In Edo State, a suspect, Roland Owie, 37, was arrested on Monday, March 30, following the raid of his warehouse in the Egbanke community, Orhionmwon LGA, where 1,378 kilograms of skunk were recovered.
A notorious drug dealer, 40-year-old Ayantola Omodunmomi (a.k.a. Iya Elle), was arrested on Wednesday, April 1, at the Eleta area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Her arrest followed intelligence and surveillance on how she used her 11-year-old daughter, Anjola, to deliver illicit drugs to customers. At the time of her arrest, 45.6kg of skunk was recovered from her warehouse.
The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands also continued across the country in the past week. Some of them include WADA sensitisation lectures delivered to students and staff of Okere Grammar School, Saki, Oyo; Shasha Comprehensive High School, Alimosho, Lagos; Ma’ahad Ahmad Turaki Islamiyya, Sabon Gari, Kano; Ezi-Awka Community Secondary School, Awka, Anambra; and Madrasatul Ihsan, Area One, Tsafe, Zamfara State, among others.
While commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Seme, Borno, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Edo, Adamawa, and Benue commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd) also praised their counterparts across the country for pursuing a fair balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
“These successful operations are a testament to the Agency’s evolving intelligence capabilities and our unwavering commitment to choking the supply lines of drug cartels. Whether they hide behind legitimate businesses, religious titles, or complex concealment methods, we will find them,” Marwa stated.
