Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a female drug kingpin, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, in Lagos, recovering 23.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her children’s room during a nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking.
Shodunke, identified as a key member of a trans-border cocaine trafficking syndicate, was arrested on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at her residence on Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, following months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by NDLEA operatives. A search of her home uncovered blocks of cocaine hidden in a black suitcase inside her children’s room. She reportedly admitted ownership of the drugs, estimated to be worth over ₦5 billion in street value.
Her arrest comes nearly 20 months after NDLEA dismantled the cocaine cartel led by Bolanle Lookman Dauda and his wife, Olayinka Toheebat Dauda. The couple was arrested on May 25, 2024, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway while attempting to traffic cocaine across the land border to Ghana. A total of 57.5 kilograms of cocaine was recovered from them in Lagos and Ogun states.
In related operations, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, on December 18, while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy. He was found with 1,020 pills of tramadol and tapentadol concealed in his luggage.
At the Seme border, a 48-year-old Beninoise national, Leocardi Josu, was arrested with 3,400 tablets of tramadol, while another suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, was apprehended along the Okene–Lokoja highway with 28.4 kilograms of skunk and synthetic cannabis.
Further seizures were recorded in Oyo State, where NDLEA operatives intercepted 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, leading to the arrest of two suspects. In Osun State, 405 kilograms of skunk were recovered during a raid in the Owena/Ijesha forest, while another suspect was arrested along the Abuja–Kaduna highway with nearly 15,000 pills of tramadol concealed in kola nut sacks.
Meanwhile, the agency said it sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across schools, communities, worship centres, and workplaces nationwide.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel to remain vigilant during the festive season and maintain the highest standards of professionalism in combating drug abuse and trafficking.