Crime
Female Drug Kingpin Arrested in Lagos as NDLEA Uncovers 23.50kg Cocaine Worth N5bn Hidden in Children’s Room
By Admin
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a suspected female drug kingpin, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, in Lagos, following the discovery of 23.
The arrest came after a 20-month manhunt triggered by the earlier capture of leaders of a notorious trans-border drug trafficking organisation operating between Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
According to the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the drug cartel—formerly led by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda—was dismantled in Lagos and Ogun states, with multi-billion-naira worth of illicit drugs seized.
Babafemi said Simbiat had gone into hiding since May 2024 but was eventually tracked and arrested at her residence in Lagos. A search of the house led to the recovery of 23.50kg of cocaine from a black suitcase hidden in her children’s room.
He explained that the cartel leaders, Lookman and Toheebat, were arrested on Saturday, May 25, 2024, by operatives of the NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit at Ibiye along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway while attempting to cross the land border into Ghana with the drugs.
“At the time of their arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5kg were found on them. A follow-up operation at their residence at Plot 24/25, OPIC Extension, Petedo Road, Agbara, Ogun State, resulted in the recovery of an additional eight blocks of cocaine weighing 10kg, bringing the total seizure from the couple to 57.5kg,” Babafemi stated.
Determined to apprehend all members of the syndicate, NDLEA operatives sustained intelligence gathering and surveillance, which eventually identified Simbiat, a 39-year-old female stash keeper, as a key player in the drug trafficking organisation.
“She was trailed to her residence at 31 Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, on Tuesday, December 9. A thorough search of the house uncovered 23.50kg of cocaine concealed in a black suitcase in her children’s room. She admitted ownership of the drugs, which are valued at over N5 billion on the streets,” he added.
In another 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. He was found with 1,020 pills of tramadol 225mg and tapentadol 200mg hidden in his luggage while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy. Destiny claimed he would have earned €200 from delivering the drugs.
Similarly, operatives arrested a 48-year-old Beninoise, Leocardi Josu, at the Seme border in the Badagry area of Lagos on December 18 while trying to enter Nigeria with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
On Friday, December 19, NDLEA officers along the Okene–Lokoja highway arrested a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, with 28.4kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives on December 19 recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection from a Toyota Hiace bus marked XD 592 AWL along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Two suspects, Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30, were also arrested at Challenge Motor Park, Ibadan, on December 17 with 185.4kg of skunk.
A separate raid in the Owena/Ijesha forest in Osun State led to the seizure of 405kg of skunk and the arrest of a 45-year-old suspect, Charles James, on December 19. On the same day, another suspect, Jamilu Zakari, 42, was apprehended at a tollgate along the Abuja–Kaduna highway with 14,960 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two kolanut sacks en route from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.
Commending the operations, NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised officers of the Special Operations Unit and those attached to the MMIA, Seme, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo, and Osun Commands for their professionalism, vigilance, and commitment in executing the arrests and seizures.
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