The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, a suspected member of an international cocaine trafficking syndicate, nearly 20 months after the cartel was dismantled across Lagos and Ogun states.
In a statement issued by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA said the 39-year-old suspect, described as a stash keeper for the trans-border drug network, was apprehended on December 9, 2025, at her residence on Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, following what the agency described as sustained intelligence gathering and surveillance.
Babafemi explained that NDLEA operatives remained focused on tracking down all members of the syndicate after earlier arrests.
“Determined to rein in every member of the syndicate, 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,” the statement read.
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A search of her home reportedly led to the recovery of a large quantity of cocaine concealed inside a suitcase kept in her children’s room. According to the agency, “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.”
NDLEA added that the suspect “admitted ownership of the drug consignment worth over N5 billion in street value.”
In a related operation, NDLEA officers at the Terminal II departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, on December 18, as he attempted to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy. A search of his luggage allegedly revealed 1,020 pills of tramadol 225mg and tapentadol 200mg.
Investigators quoted the suspect as saying that “the successful trafficking of the opioids to Italy would have fetched him two hundred euros (€200) from the person he was to deliver them to.”
At the Seme border area in Badagry, Lagos, NDLEA operatives also arrested a 48-year-old Beninoise national, Leocardi Josu, on December 18, with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
Similarly, along the Okene–Lokoja highway in Kogi State, officers arrested a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, on December 19, with 28.4 kilogrammes of skunk and Colorado, a synthetic variant of cannabis.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives recovered a large cache of drugs, including 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection, from a Toyota Hiace bus along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway on December 19. Two suspects, Ogunlade Kazeem and Adeleke Ismail, were also arrested at Challenge Motor Park, Ibadan, on December 17, with 185.4 kilogrammes of skunk.
Reacting to the series of operations, NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the officers for their efforts and urged personnel across the country to stay alert. He charged them 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.”