Kamsi Anayo, Awka
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have arrested Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, a suspected female drug kingpin and prominent member of a notorious trans-border trafficking organisation, following a 20-month manhunt sparked by the arrest of the group’s former leaders.
Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA spokesperson in a statement on Sunday, said the cocaine trafficking cartel, previously headed by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, was smashed in Lagos and Ogun state by the agency, with multi-billion-Naira worth of the illicit drug recovered from them.
“Following the arrest, Simbiat, who went underground since May 2024, was nabbed in her Lagos home, where an additional 23.50 kilograms of the class A drug were recovered from her children’s room.
“The kingpin Lookman and his queen Toheebat were arrested on Saturday, 25th May 2024, by operatives of a special operations unit of NDLEA at Ibiye, along Lagos-Badagry expressway, while attempting to cross the land border to deliver the consignment in Ghana.
“At the point of their arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms were found on them. A swift follow-up operation in their residence at Plot 24/25 OPIC extension, Petedo road, Agbara, Ogun state, led to the recovery of an additional eight blocks of the same drug weighing 10kg, bringing the total weight of the consignment seized from the couple to 57.5 kilograms,” he said.
According to him, determined to rein in every member of the syndicate, the NDLEA operatives continued with follow-up intelligence and surveillance on the trans-border drug trafficking organisation until a 39-year-old female stash keeper, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, was identified as a key member of the DTO.
“As a result, she was trailed to her 31 Onasanya street, Surulere, Lagos residence on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
“A thorough search of her home led to the discovery of blocks of cocaine weighing 23.50 kilograms concealed in a black suitcase recovered from her children’s room. She admitted ownership of the drug consignment worth over N5billion in street value,” he stated.
In a similar operation, NDLEA operatives attached to terminal II departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos on Dec. 18 intercepted a 36-year-old businessman Nwanwene Robinson Destiny with a total of 1,020 pills of tramadol 225mg and tapentadol 200mg concealed in his luggage while attempting to board a Royal Air-Maroc flight to Milan, Italy where he’s based.
The suspect, Destiny, claimed the successful trafficking of the opioids to Italy would have fetched him €200.00 from the person he was to deliver them to.
NDLEA operatives arrested another suspect, a 48-year-old Beninoise Leocardi Josu, at the Seme border in Badagry area of Lagos, on Dec. 18, while attempting to cross into Nigeria with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
The agency’s operatives also nabbed another 30-year-old suspect, identified as Abdullahi Adamu, along Okene/Lokoja highway with 28.400kg skunk, a strain of cannabis and Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, on Friday, 19th December.
In Oyo state, NDLEA operatives on Dec. 19, recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection in a Toyota Hiace bus marked XD 592 AWL along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, while two suspects: Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30, were arrested with 185.4 kilograms of skunk at Challenge motor park, Ibadan, on Wednesday 17th December.
A total of 405kg of skunk was seized when NDLEA operatives raided Owena/Ijesha forest in Osun state, where a suspect, Charles James, 45, was nabbed on Dec.19, while another suspect, Jamilu Zakari, 42, was arrested with 14,960 pills of tramadol 225mg at tollgate, along Abuja – Kaduna highway same day.
The consignment of opioids was concealed in two kolanut sacks (huhun goro) coming from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara state.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the operatives attached to the Special Operations Unit, MMIA, Seme, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo and Osun Commands for the arrests, seizures and the dexterity deployed in carrying out their duties.
