NDLEA Arrests Wanted Drug Kingpin at Lagos Airport, Dismantles Lekki Colorado Laboratory
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a notorious drug kingpin, 40-year-old Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, the lesser Muslim pilgrimage.
The NDLEA, in a statement issued through its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi on Sunday, said the arrest followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on the suspect, who fled the United Kingdom after he was arrested and charged for drug offences.
According to the Agency, Azeez jumped bail abroad and escaped to Nigeria where he quietly settled in Lagos and set up a clandestine factory for the production of Colorado, a synthetic, highly potent cannabis derivative.
At about 6:30am on Thursday, 6th November 2025, NDLEA officers picked him up at the airport and immediately led him to his secret drug production site located at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki. Another suspect, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun, was also arrested at the laboratory during the operation.
A massive quantity of illicit chemicals, precursor substances, and already processed synthetic cannabis weighing 148.3 kilogrammes were seized from the building before it was dismantled. The operation was conducted by officers from the Agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring (DFCM).
This comes barely a week after the Agency dismantled another synthetic drug laboratory operated by a cartel in the Ajao Estate axis of Lagos.
NDLEA said its clampdown continued across the country, with multiple seizures and arrests recorded in various states.
In Lagos, a joint operation involving NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies at the Sifax bonded terminal, Okota, led to the discovery of 105.5 kilogrammes of “Molly”, a designer drug, and 500 grammes of methamphetamine on Friday, 7th November during the examination of an imported shipment.
In Niger State on Thursday, 6th November, officers intercepted 87,000 tramadol pills and 72 kilogrammes of cannabis (skunk) being conveyed in a Volvo truck with registration GRZ 872 XA, driven by one Ibrahim Mohammed, 35, along the Kainji–Wawa road.
In Taraba, on Monday, 3rd November, NDLEA intercepted a Toyota Corolla headed to Cameroon with 34,520 tramadol capsules loaded from Onitsha, Anambra State, arresting the driver, 25-year-old Aliyu Samaila.
Also in Taraba, the Agency arrested a suspect, Felix Tanko Chinedu, 28, at Kasuwabera ATC in Ardo Kola LGA with 15,020 tramadol capsules on Thursday, 6th November.
In Kogi State, officers on patrol along the Okene–Lokoja highway seized a consignment of 7.600 kilogrammes of Loud. A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of the owner, 40-year-old Chukwunonso Anieze, and the recovery of an additional 175,000 opioid pills.
Also on Wednesday, 5th November, three suspects – 39-year-old Olayide Oyidiran, 28-year-old Abdulsalam Abdulsalam, and 39-year-old Opeyemi Tijjani – were arrested at the Abuja/Kaduna toll gate with 769 kilogrammes of cannabis in a truck marked TRE 897 BE. The drugs reportedly originated from Lagos and were headed to Kano via Owo, Ondo State.
In Edo State, a 73-year-old grandfather, James Ugbedo, was arrested in a cannabis plantation inside Igbeshi forest in Imiakebo, Etsako East LGA, where 1,459.75 kilogrammes of cannabis were destroyed and another 5.6 kilogrammes evacuated.
Similarly, in Bayelsa State, a 70-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Comfort Odudu, was arrested at Onopa, Yenagoa, on Tuesday, 4th November with 5 kilogrammes of cannabis.
NDLEA also reported that its Commands continued the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign nationwide, with engagements across schools, seminaries, transport unions, and communities.
Schools visited in the past week include Transfiguration Seminary Secondary School, Abakaliki; Day Secondary School, Sabonkasuwa Kontagora, Niger State; Immanuel College High School (Senior), Ibadan; Government Girls Secondary School, Ilelah, Sokoto; and Government Day Secondary School, Namtari, Adamawa, among others.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers involved in the Lagos operations and other Commands across Edo, Taraba, Kaduna, Kogi, Niger, and Bayelsa.
He warned that the Agency will intensify its clampdown on drug cartels nationwide.
“The dismantling of yet another clandestine laboratory for the production of Colorado and other dangerous synthetic substances and the arrest of the kingpin behind it in Lekki, coming barely a week after similar actions against another cartel in Ajao Estate, Lagos, shows that these are no doubt the first in the series of what will be many strikes against merchants of death who prey on the weak in our communities.
“Let it be known to those still hiding in the dark that the NDLEA supported by our local and international law enforcement partners will continue to hunt them and bring them to justice,” he said.
The NDLEA reaffirmed that the war on drugs will remain multi-pronged – combining intelligence-led operations with sustained nationwide education and sensitisation.
