Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have smashed a major drug trafficking syndicate through a three-week intelligence-driven operation.
They intercepted cocaine hidden in tins of palm kernel extract bound for the United Kingdom, raided the packaging warehouse, and dismantled all three layers of the network, culminating in the arrest of the kingpin.
The operation kicked off on March 11, 2026, when NDLEA officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Strategic Command in Ikeja, Lagos, seized 3.10 kilograms of cocaine at the export shed.
The drugs were cleverly concealed inside tins of palm kernel extract, as detailed in a press release by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy.
In parallel strikes, NDLEA intercepted a female drug supplier linked to bandits in Borno State, carrying Colorado (a potent synthetic cannabis variant). They also arrested a pastor and his wife for drug trafficking.
These successes highlight NDLEA’s relentless push against narcotics networks threatening national and international security.
The statement explains that two suspects handling the shipment at the airport - Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin - were promptly arrested. To unravel the sender and the arrowhead of the drug syndicate, a well-coordinated sting operation was carried out on Thursday April 2, leading to the arrest of the sender of the consignment, Ezemuwo Joel, who operates under a fake identity as Ajayi.
His arrest 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, according to the press statement, has since confessed to personally draining the oil from the tins to conceal the cocaine.
The statement also disclosed that in a separate but equally significant operation in Borno State, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday April 1, intercepted a female drug supplier to bandit groups operating between the North East and Chad, 28-year-old Aisha Adamu. She was said to have been arrested along Gamboru Ngala road in possession of 4.3 kilograms of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
The statement reads further: “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, 45, and his wife, Mrs. Success Hodonu, 35, were on Thursday April 2, 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, 35, at the same checkpoint on Monday March 30, while conveying 24.5kg skunk from Seme border to Lagos.
“In Adamawa state, NDLEA officers on patrol along Namtari road , Yola South, on Monday March 30, intercepted a trailer marked RUW 947 XA transporting 48,000 pills of tramadol. The truck driver, Abdulaziz Ismail Korede, was arrested while a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the recipient, Idris Adamu.
“While 60-year-old Idiatu Oladejo was arrested with 15kg skunk in Isale Osun, Osogbo, Osun state on Wednesday April 1, 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 Wednesday April 1.
“In Edo State, a suspect Roland Owie, 37, was arrested on Monday March 30, 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 on Wednesday April 1, arrested at Eleta area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. 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, 45.6kg skunk was recovered from her warehouse.”
NDLEA explains that the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands equally continued across the country in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture delivered to students and staff of Okere Grammar School, Saki, Oyo; Shasha Comprehensive High School, Alimosho, Lagos; Ma’ahad Ahmad Turaki Islamiyya, Sabon Gari, Kano; Ezi-Awka Community Secondary School, Awka, Anambra, and Madrasatul Ihsan, Area One Tsafe, Zamfara state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Seme, Borno, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Edo, Adamawa and Benue commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba 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, the statement noted.
"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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