National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate in high-stakes intelligence-led operations that lasted three weeks, during which cocaine consignments concealed in tins of palm kernel extract heading to the United Kingdom were intercepted, and the warehouse where the shipments are packaged was raided, while all three layers of the group were unraveled, leading to the arrest of the kingpin.
The breakthrough began on 11th March 2026, when NDLEA officers of the Lagos International Airport Strategic Command intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine at the export shed of the airport. The illicit substance was meticulously hidden inside tins of palm kernel extract intended for shipment to the UK.
A statement by the spokesperson of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday said that two suspects handling the shipment, Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin, were promptly arrested.
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To unravel the sender and the arrowhead of the drug syndicate, a well-coordinated sting operation was carried out on 2nd April, leading to the arrest of the sender of the consignment, Ezemuwo Joel, who operates under a fake identity as Ajayi.
His arrest, according to Babafemi, provided the link to the syndicate’s head, 52-year-old King Arinze, who was flushed out of a hideout in the Isolo area of Lagos. He was thereafter taken to his warehouse at 11, Ola Ifa Street, Bucknor, Isolo, where NDLEA operatives recovered 886 tins of palm kernel extract prepared for drug concealment; industrial tools including a sealing machine, tin openers, paint sprays, 52 grams of cannabis sativa, and a pack of hand gloves. Arinze has since confessed to personally draining the oil from the tins to conceal the cocaine.
In a separate but equally significant operation in Borno state, NDLEA operatives on 1st April intercepted a female drug supplier to bandit groups operating between the North East and Chad, 28-year-old Aisha Adamu. She was arrested along the Gamboru Ngala road in possession of 4.3 kilograms of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
Meanwhile, the pastor in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Sakpo area of Seme border, Badagry in Lagos state, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu and his wife, Mrs. Success Hodonu, were on 2nd April arrested by NDLEA operatives at Gbaji checkpoint. A search of their Honda Pilot SUV led to the recovery of blocks of skunk weighing 11kg concealed in hidden parts of their vehicle.
The arrest of the couple followed the apprehension of a fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, at the same checkpoint on 30th March while conveying 24.5kg of skunk from Seme border to Lagos.
In Adamawa state, NDLEA officers on patrol along Namtari road, Yola South, on 30th March intercepted a trailer marked RUW 947 XA transporting 48,000 pills of tramadol. The truck driver, Abdulaziz Ismail Korede, was arrested during a follow-up operation, which led to the arrest of the recipient, Idris Adamu.
While 60-year-old Idiatu Oladejo was arrested with 15kg of skunk in Isale Osun, Osogbo, Osun State, on April 1st, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence raided the Itaogbolu forest, Akure, Ondo State, where they recovered 351 kilograms of skunk and its seeds.
No fewer than 28,600 capsules of tramadol were seized from a 66-year-old Aminu Usman Gembu when he was arrested at Aliade, Benue state, on 1st April. In Edo state, a suspect, Roland Owie, was arrested on 30th March following the raid of his warehouse at Egbanke community, Orhionmwon LGA, where 1,378 kilograms of skunk were recovered.
A notorious drug dealer, 40-year-old Ayantola Omodunmomi (a.k.a Iya Elle) was arrested on 1st April at Eleta area of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital. Babafemi said her arrest follows intelligence and surveillance on how she uses her 11-year-old daughter, Anjola, to deliver illicit drugs to her customers. At the time of her arrest, a 45.6kg skunk was recovered from her warehouse.
The statement said the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week.
While commending the officers and men of the Lagos airport, Seme, Borno, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Edo, Adamawa, and Benue Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd) also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
“These successful operations are a testament to the Agency’s evolving intelligence capabilities and our unwavering commitment to choking the supply lines of drug cartels. Whether they hide behind legitimate businesses, religious titles, or complex concealment methods, we will find them,” Marwa stated.
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