Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a female drug kingpin, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, after recovering 23.50 kilograms of cocaine hidden in her children’s room at her residence in Surulere, Lagos.
The arrest came 20 months after the NDLEA dismantled a cocaine trafficking cartel led by Bolanle Lookman Dauda and his wife, Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, with multi-billion-naira worth of cocaine seized in Lagos and Ogun states.
Shodunke, identified as a key member and stash keeper of the syndicate, had gone underground following the earlier crackdown in May 2024.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
According to the statement, NDLEA operatives under its Special Operations Unit tracked Shodunke to her home at 31 Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, where she was arrested on Tuesday, December 9, 2025.
A search of the apartment led to the discovery of blocks of cocaine weighing 23.50kg hidden inside a black suitcase in her children’s room.
The suspect reportedly admitted ownership of the drugs, estimated to be worth over ₦5 billion in street value.
The earlier arrest of the cartel leaders occurred on Saturday, May 25, 2024, when NDLEA operatives intercepted Bolanle Lookman Dauda and his wife along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway while attempting to cross into Ghana.
A total of 47.5kg of cocaine was recovered from them at the point of arrest, while an additional 10kg was later seized from their residence in Agbara, Ogun State, bringing the total to 57.5kg.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Terminal II departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, on Thursday, December 18, 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 claimed he was to be paid €200 for successfully delivering the drugs to Italy.
At the Seme border in the Badagry area of Lagos, a 48-year-old Beninoise, Leocardi Josu, was arrested the same day while attempting to enter Nigeria with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg. Similarly, NDLEA operatives along the Okene–Lokoja highway arrested a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, on Friday, December 19, with 28.4kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.
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In Oyo State, operatives recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection from a Toyota Hiace bus along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway on Friday, December 19.
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.
Meanwhile, in Osun State, NDLEA officers raided the Owena/Ijesha forest, where 405kg of skunk was seized and a 45-year-old suspect, Charles James, was arrested on Friday, 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 kola-nut sacks en route from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.
Across the country, the agency said it sustained its war against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
These included enlightenment programmes in Anambra, Katsina and Ekiti states, among others.
Commending the officers involved in the various operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel nationwide to remain vigilant during the festive season and to maintain the highest standards of professionalism in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
