The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled two major cocaine cartels operating across Lagos, seizing multiple UK-bound shipments and arresting six key suspects, including the alleged kingpin, Alhaji Hammed Taofeek Ode.
According to a statement on Sunday by agency’s spokesman Femi Babafemi, the intelligence-led operations, which lasted over three weeks, exposed an elaborate network smuggling cocaine concealed in everyday items such as stainless cups, hair gel, and body cream containers.
The operation began on September 16, 2025, when NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, intercepted 174 parcels of cocaine weighing 13.4kg hidden in cocoa butter body cream containers.
A cargo agent was immediately arrested, leading investigators to the suspected cartel leader, Alhaji Hammed Taofeek Ode, who posed as a businessman and real estate developer.
Ode, who reportedly spent 27 years across several European countries before returning to Nigeria in 2024, confessed to owning the seized consignment valued at over ₦150 million.
In a similar breakthrough, NDLEA operatives thwarted five additional cocaine exports to the United Kingdom.
One syndicate member, Smith David Korede, a furniture maker, was arrested at his residence in Oshodi after agents traced multiple cocaine shipments totaling 4.5kg to him.
Two other suspects, Ogunbiyi Oluseye Taiwo and Popoola Francis Olumuyiwa, were also arrested for attempting to smuggle cocaine concealed in crayfish and stainless cups.
In separate operations, NDLEA agents intercepted a Thailand shipment of 6.3kg of Loud cannabis concealed in bedsheets, and in Kano, arrested 38-year-old Sa’adu Ali with 290,450 pills of tramadol and pregabalin.
In Lagos, notorious dealer John Igbe, alias SammyBless, was arrested in Lekki with 550 grams of Colorado, while large quantities of skunk, codeine, and nitrous oxide were seized from other suspects across Mushin, Alaba, and Kwara.
In Osun and Edo states, NDLEA destroyed over 24,897kg of skunk found on large cannabis farms, arresting several suspects during the raids.
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Reacting to the operations, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), commended the agency’s operatives for their professionalism and persistence.
“These successful operations should serve as a warning. NDLEA will not relent until every cartel and syndicate involved in drug trafficking is completely dismantled,” Marwa said.
He emphasized that each seizure and arrest represents “innocent lives saved and communities protected” both in Nigeria and abroad.
The NDLEA reaffirmed its commitment to eradicating illicit drug trade through sustained intelligence operations, inter-agency collaboration, and community sensitisation under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.
