Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted female drug kingpin, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, following the recovery of 23.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her children’s room at her residence in Lagos.
The arrest comes about 20 months after NDLEA dismantled a cocaine trafficking syndicate operating across Lagos and Ogun states, leading to the arrest of two other kingpins, a couple identified as Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, in May 2024.
NDLEA spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said the suspect had gone underground after the earlier arrests but was eventually tracked down through sustained intelligence and surveillance operations.
He recalled that Lookman and Toheebat Dauda were arrested on Saturday, May 25, 2024, by operatives of the NDLEA Special Operations Unit at Ibiye along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway while attempting to cross the land border to Ghana with a drug consignment.
“At the point of arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5kg were found on them. A follow-up operation at their residence in Agbara, Ogun State, led to the recovery of an additional 10kg, bringing the total seizure from the couple to 57.5kg of cocaine,” Babafemi said.
Determined to apprehend all members of the syndicate, NDLEA operatives later identified Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, a 39-year-old female stash keeper, as a key player in the trans-border drug trafficking organisation.
“She was arrested on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at her residence on Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos. A search of her apartment led to the discovery of 23.5kg of cocaine concealed in a black suitcase kept in her children’s room. She admitted ownership of the drugs, valued at over ₦5 billion in street value,” he added.
In another operation, NDLEA officers at the Terminal II departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, on Thursday, December 18, intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, 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, who claimed to be based in Italy, said he would have received €200 upon successful delivery of the drugs.
At the Seme border in the Badagry area of Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested a 48-year-old Beninoise woman, Leocardi Josu, on the same day while attempting to cross into Nigeria with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
In Kogi State, a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, was arrested along the Okene–Lokoja highway with 28.4kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and Colorado, a synthetic variant, on Friday, December 19.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives in Oyo State recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection from a Toyota Hiace bus along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway on the same day.
Two suspects, Ogunlade Kazeem (54) and Adeleke Ismail (30), were also arrested with 185.4kg of skunk at Challenge Motor Park, Ibadan, on Wednesday, December 17.
In Osun State, a total of 405kg of skunk was seized during a raid on Owena/Ijesha forest, where a suspect, Charles James (45), was arrested on Friday, December 19.
Meanwhile, another suspect, Jamilu Zakari (42), was arrested the same day at a tollgate along the Abuja–Kaduna highway with 14,960 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two sacks of kolanuts en route from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.
Babafemi said NDLEA commands nationwide also intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities over the past week. These included enlightenment programmes in Anambra, Katsina and Ekiti States, among others.
Commending the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised officers of the Special Operations Unit and commands at MMIA, Seme, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo and Osun for their professionalism and operational effectiveness.
He urged all NDLEA personnel to remain vigilant during the festive season and to sustain the highest standards of professionalism in both drug supply and drug demand reduction efforts across the country.
