By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
A MAJOR international drug trafficking syndicate has been dismantled following a two-week intelligence-led operation by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lagos, leading to the arrest of three cartel leaders and the seizure of a cocaine consignment valued at N5.3 billion.
The operation began on Tuesday 26th August 2025 when NDLEA officers at the export shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja intercepted 76 cartons of textile materials destined for Sydney, Australia.
A search revealed 16 blocks of cocaine weighing 17.9 kilograms concealed within lace fabrics packed with local charms intended to shield the drugs from detection.
The illicit shipment, estimated to fetch more than 5.3 million Australian dollars, was traced to freight agent Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, who was promptly arrested.
Further investigation identified additional leaders of the cartel. On Wednesday 3rd September, NDLEA operatives arrested Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, described as the syndicate’s coordinator in Nigeria, at a hotel in Ikeja GRA.
A search of his Lekki residence yielded 21 parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 10.90kg, along with a pump action gun and cartridges.
At the same time, Shola Adegoke, another syndicate member, was arrested at a packaging house in Ikeja GRA.
A black Range Rover SUV and a Toyota Venza linked to the cartel were recovered, alongside 17 parcels of Loud weighing 9.60 kilograms.
According to NDLEA findings, the cartel’s ringleader, identified as Adebisi Ademola Omoyele, also known as “Mr Bee,” operates from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Adegoke was previously jailed in the United Kingdom in 2021 for methamphetamine trafficking and deported in 2024, while Ogunbiyi had earlier served 14 years in the UK over a murder conviction before returning to Nigeria.
In a related arrest, Milan-based Nigerian, Gabriel Michael, was apprehended at MMIA on Friday 5th September while attempting to board an Air France flight to Italy with 24,480 tramadol pills concealed in his luggage.
He admitted that the consignment was intended for sale at a value of 19,520 euros.
NDLEA operatives also intercepted a 40ft container at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, on Thursday 4th September.
Jointly examined with Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, the container concealed 160,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup hidden among ceramic sanitary ware.
The shipment, tracked by NDLEA’s special operations unit, carried an estimated street value of over N1.1 billion.
Additional operations were carried out across the country according to the NDLEA release.
In Abuja, a dispatch rider, Joel Bernard, was arrested in Gwarimpa on Thursday 4th September with 3.1kg of Colorado.
In Lagos, on Monday 1st September, operatives apprehended Tunde Ayinla and Olawale Omotare in Surulere while loading four vehicles with illicit drugs.
Seizures from the raid included 9kg of Canadian Loud, 5kg of Colorado, and 611kg of Ghana Loud compressed into 1,101 blocks, totalling 625kg.
A separate operation in Ajegunle on Friday 5th September led to the arrest of a couple, Andy David and Andy Esther, with 24.4kg of skunk recovered.
Elsewhere, 45-year-old Musa Isah was caught with 53.4kg of skunk hidden in his car boot in Kogi State, while a follow-up operation in Auchi, Edo State, resulted in the arrest of 23-year-old Yunusa Zakari linked to a 233kg skunk seizure earlier in Kaduna.
In Anambra, NDLEA operatives arrested 28-year-old Ayouk Nelson on Wednesday 3rd September with 11,000 tramadol pills, while officers on patrol along Minna-Bida Road in Niger State on Tuesday 2nd September seized 342kg of skunk from a Toyota Hilux.
In Taraba State, NDLEA teams destroyed 18,750kg of skunk cultivated on 7.5 hectares of cannabis farms at Joro-Ade village, Ardo Kola Local Government Area, arresting farm owners Mako Zmar, 55, and Sani Titus, 45.
The agency also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy nationwide with sensitisation lectures and community engagements.
These included awareness sessions for Nigerian Correctional Service officers in Nasarawa, traditional rulers in Kano, and traditional medicine practitioners in Anambra, while the Kogi State command visited the Ohi of Ihima and local traditional council leaders.
Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers of MMIA, PHPC, Lagos, FCT, Anambra, Taraba, Kaduna, Kogi, and Niger commands for their work, urging intensified efforts in drug control through enforcement and advocacy.
