Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 39-year-old woman, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, over alleged possession of 23.50 kilogrammes of cocaine valued at over N5 billion, concealed in her children’s room in Surulere, Lagos.
The arrest followed a 20-month manhunt after the dismantling of a trans-border drug trafficking organisation operating across Lagos and Ogun states.
This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi said Simbiat, described as a suspected female drug kingpin and key member of the syndicate, went underground in May 2024 after the arrest of the cartel’s former leaders.
According to him, the trafficking network was previously led by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, who were arrested on May 25, 2024, by operatives of the agency’s Special Operations Unit at Ibiye, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, while attempting to smuggle cocaine across the land border to Ghana.
“At the point of their arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5kg were recovered from them.
“A follow-up operation at their residence located at Plot 24/25, OPIC Extension, Petedo Road, Agbara, Ogun, led to the recovery of an additional eight blocks of cocaine weighing 10kg.
“This brought the total quantity seized from the couple to 57.5kg,” Babafemi said.
He added that intelligence-driven investigations and sustained surveillance later identified Simbiat as the syndicate’s stash keeper.
“Consequently, she was trailed to her residence at No. 31, Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, where she was arrested on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025.
“A thorough search of her apartment led to the discovery of 23.50kg of cocaine concealed in a black suitcase inside her children’s room.
“She admitted ownership of the consignment, which has an estimated street value of over N5 billion,” the NDLEA spokesman stated.
Babafemi said the agency also recorded several other arrests and seizures across the country in separate operations.
He disclosed that on Thursday, Dec. 18, operatives at the Terminal II departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, intercepted a 36-year-old businessman,
Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy.
According to him, a search of the suspect’s luggage led to the recovery of 1,020 pills of tramadol (225mg) and tapentadol (200mg), concealed for export.
“The suspect claimed he would have been paid 200 euros for delivering the illicit drugs in Italy,” Babafemi said.
In another operation, NDLEA officers arrested a 48-year-old Beninese national, Leocardi Josu, at the Seme border in Badagry on Thursday, Dec. 18, with 3,400 tablets of tramadol (225mg) while attempting to enter Nigeria.
Similarly, a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, was arrested along the Okene-Lokoja highway on Friday, Dec. 19, with 28.4kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and Colorado, a synthetic cannabis substance.
In Oyo State, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives 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 on Friday, Dec. 19.
He added that two suspects,
Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30, were arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at Challenge Motor Park, Ibadan, with 185.4kg of skunk.
In Osun State, NDLEA operatives raided the Owena-Ijesha forest on Friday, Dec. 19, where they seized 405kg of skunk and arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Charles James.
Babafemi further said that 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 kolanut sacks while travelling from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.
He reiterated the agency’s commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks and preventing illicit drugs from destroying Nigerian communities.