The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it has broken up a major international drug syndicate operating across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates, recovering narcotics valued at over ₦6.4 billion.
A statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, revealed that the operation began on August 26 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to Babafemi, officers intercepted “76 cartons of textile materials bound for Sydney, Australia. Concealed within were 16 blocks of cocaine weighing 17.9kg, hidden alongside local charms allegedly meant to shield traffickers from detection.”
The agency disclosed that a freight agent, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, was arrested in connection with the shipment. The cocaine, it added, had a street value of AU$5.3 million, equivalent to about ₦5.3 billion.
Further investigations led to the arrest of Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, identified as the cartel’s Nigerian coordinator, and another senior member, Shola Adegoke. Ogunbiyi was arrested on September 3 in Ikeja GRA, while a search of his Lekki residence yielded 21 parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis, a pump-action rifle, and cartridges.
Adegoke was apprehended at a packaging facility in Ikeja GRA, where operatives recovered 9.6kg of cannabis from a Range Rover SUV. The NDLEA said Adegoke previously served a jail term in the UK for methamphetamine trafficking, while Ogunbiyi completed a 14-year sentence in Britain for murder.
The cartel’s alleged ringleader, identified as Adebisi Ademola Omoyele, alias Mr Bee, is reportedly based in Dubai and oversees the group’s international operations.
The agency noted that the crackdown extended beyond Lagos. “At Onne Port in Rivers State, a joint NDLEA–Customs operation uncovered 160,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup concealed in ceramic sanitary wares, with an estimated street value of ₦1.1 billion,” the statement read.
Other raids across Lagos, Abuja, Kogi, Edo, Kaduna, Anambra, Niger, and Taraba led to seizures of cannabis, Colorado, and Loud. Notably, 625kg of cannabis was recovered in Surulere, Lagos, while 18.7 tonnes of skunk were destroyed on plantations in Taraba.
The agency also reported the arrest of a Milan-based Nigerian, Gabriel Michael, at the Lagos airport while attempting to smuggle 24,480 tramadol tablets to Italy. He confessed that the consignment was expected to fetch €19,520.
Commending the operatives, NDLEA Chairman Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.) stressed the agency’s resolve to pursue both enforcement and public sensitisation under its War Against Drug Abuse campaign.
“This operation underscores the agency’s commitment to dismantling drug cartels and protecting our country from the dangers of illicit substances. We will remain vigilant and relentless in this fight,” Marwa said.
