The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has busted an international drug cartel operating between Nigeria, the UK, Brazil, Australia, and the UAE, arresting three of its leaders and seizing multi-billion-naira consignments of cocaine, codeine, and cannabis in nationwide operations.
The breakthrough came on August 26 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, when officers intercepted 76 cartons of textile materials destined for Sydney, Australia. A search revealed 17.9kg of cocaine concealed in lace fabrics stuffed with charms. The drugs, valued at ₦5.3 billion, led to the arrest of a freight agent, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji.
Follow-up investigations exposed other ringleaders: Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, arrested in Ikeja GRA on September 3, and Shola Adegoke, caught during a raid at the syndicate’s packaging base in Ikeja. Ogunbiyi’s Lekki home yielded 10.9kg of Canadian Loud and a pump-action gun, while a Range Rover SUV linked to Adegoke contained another 9.6kg of Loud.
NDLEA identified Adebisi Ademola Omoyele (a.k.a. Mr. Bee), currently in Dubai, as the overall mastermind. Ogunbiyi previously served 14 years in the UK for murder, while Adegoke had been jailed for drug trafficking in Britain before his 2024 deportation.
In a separate incident on September 5, NDLEA operatives arrested Gabriel Michael, a Milan-based Nigerian, at Lagos airport with 24,480 tramadol pills concealed in his luggage, which he planned to sell in Italy for €19,520.
The agency also uncovered a major pharmaceutical smuggling attempt in Rivers State, where a 40ft container at Onne Port declared as ceramic wares was found to contain 160,200 bottles of codeine syrup worth over ₦1.1bn.
Other raids across Nigeria netted huge seizures:
Abuja: Joel Bernard (32) arrested with 3.1kg of Colorado.
Lagos: Tunde Ayinla (47) and Olawale Omotare (54) nabbed with 625kg of cannabis; a couple, Andy David (43) and Andy Esther (44), caught with 24.4kg of skunk.
Kogi: Musa Isah (45) intercepted with 53.4kg of skunk in his Toyota Avensis.
Edo/Kaduna: Yunusa Zakari (23) arrested in Auchi over a 233kg skunk seizure in Kaduna.
Anambra: Ayouk Nelson (28) arrested with 11,000 tramadol pills in Onitsha.
Niger State: A Toyota Hilux loaded with 342kg of skunk intercepted on Minna-Bida road.
Taraba: NDLEA destroyed 18,750kg of cannabis on 7.5 hectares of farmland; two cultivators arrested.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA Commands continued the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy, holding sensitization sessions in prisons, palaces, mosques, and workplaces in states including Nasarawa, Kano, Anambra, and Kogi.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), praised officers for their “professional courage” and urged them to sustain the momentum in dismantling criminal networks fueling Nigeria’s drug crisis.
