Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a notorious drug kingpin, Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, at Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The agency, in a statement signed on Sunday by its spokesperson Femi Babafemi, said the 40-year-old suspect was apprehended on Thursday, November 6, 2025, while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
Azeez’s arrest followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by a special NDLEA operations unit.
The suspect, who previously fled the United Kingdom after jumping bail for drug-related offences, had returned to Nigeria to establish a massive clandestine laboratory for producing synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Colorado, in Lekki, Lagos.
At about 6:30 a.m., NDLEA officers intercepted Azeez at the airport departure hall and immediately took him into custody.
He was later taken to his hideout at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, where a fully operational illicit drug production facility was uncovered. Another suspect, Abideen Kekere-Ekun, 43, was also arrested at the site.
Inside the building, operatives from the Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring (DFCM) dismantled laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals, and finished products, totaling 148.3 kilograms.
The agency described this as one of the largest synthetic drug seizures in recent years.
In a separate operation on Friday, November 7, NDLEA, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, recovered 105.5 kg of “Molly” and 500 grams of methamphetamine at the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, Lagos.
The contraband was concealed for local distribution.
Significant interceptions were also made in other states. In Niger State, operatives seized 87,000 pills of tramadol and 72 kg of skunk cannabis from a Volvo truck driven by Ibrahim Mohammed, 35.
In Taraba State, Aliyu Samaila, 25, was arrested transporting 34,520 tramadol capsules in a Toyota Corolla, reportedly destined for Cameroon. Another suspect, Felix Tanko Chinedu, 28, was apprehended with 15,020 tramadol capsules in Ardo Kola Local Government Area.
In Kogi State, NDLEA seized 7.6 kg of “Loud,” a potent cannabis strain, on the Okene–Lokoja highway. A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of Chukwunonso Anieze, 40, the owner of the consignment. Additionally, 175,000 pills of opioids were recovered from another shipment the same day.
At the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate, three suspects — Olayide Oyidiran, 39; Abdulsalam Abdulsalam, 28; and Opeyemi Tijjani, 39 — were caught transporting 769 kg of skunk from Lagos to Kano via Owo, Ondo State, highlighting the agency’s crackdown on inter-state trafficking networks.
In Edo State, a 73-year-old man, James Ugbedo, was caught tending a cannabis plantation at Igbeshi Forest, Imiakebo, Etsako East LGA. About 1,459.75 kg of cannabis was destroyed, and 5.6 kg was recovered for evidence.
In Bayelsa State, a 70-year-old woman, Comfort Odudu, was arrested in Onopa, Yenagoa, with 5 kg of skunk.
The NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative continued nationwide, with sensitization campaigns targeting students, communities, and transport unions.
Beneficiaries included Transfiguration Seminary Secondary School in Abakaliki, Immanuel College High School in Ibadan, Government Girls Secondary School in Ilelah, and NURTW members in Birnin Kebbi.
Commending his officers, NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) praised the successful dismantling of the Lekki lab and other operations.
He described the actions as part of a sustained national offensive against drug cartels preying on vulnerable citizens.
“The dismantling of yet another clandestine laboratory for Colorado and other dangerous substances, and the arrest of the kingpin behind it in Lekki, barely a week after a similar operation in Ajao Estate, shows our commitment to dismantling these cartels. The NDLEA, supported by local and international partners, will continue to hunt these merchants of death and bring them to justice,” Marwa said.
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