By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dealt a decisive blow to an international organised criminal group running a transcontinental drug trafficking network across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates, arresting three of its leaders in Lagos and seizing narcotics worth billions of naira in a string of operations over the past two weeks.
In an official statement, the Director of Media and Advocacy of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the cartel’s unraveling began on Tuesday 26 August 2025 when officers intercepted 76 cartons of textile materials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The consignment, billed for Sydney, Australia, contained 16 large blocks of cocaine weighing 17.9 kilograms, ingeniously concealed in lace fabrics and packaged with local charms intended to provide spiritual cover against law enforcement detection. The cocaine had an estimated street value of 5.3 million Australian dollars, equivalent to N5.3 billion.
The interception led to the arrest of freight agent and syndicate member, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, whose confession exposed other top figures in the network. A series of follow-up operations led to the capture of the syndicate’s Nigeria-based coordinator, Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, on 3 September at a hotel in Ikeja GRA. A search at his residence in Lekki yielded 21 parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 10.9 kilograms, alongside a double-barreled pump-action gun and cartridges. His arrest also led operatives to a hideout at 13 Reverend Ogunbiyi Street, Ikeja GRA, where another cartel leader, Shola Adegoke, was apprehended. At the premises, a black Range Rover SUV with 17 parcels of Loud weighing 9.6 kilograms was recovered, while a Toyota Venza had earlier been seized from Ogunbiyi during his hotel arrest.
Investigations further revealed that the criminal syndicate is masterminded by one Adebisi Ademola Omoyele, alias Mr. Bee, who is currently in Dubai coordinating the group’s overseas operations. While Ogunbiyi runs local coordination, Adegoke was identified as a convicted trafficker previously jailed in the UK in 2021 for methamphetamine dealings before his deportation to Nigeria in 2024. Ogunbiyi himself was found to have served a 14-year prison sentence in the UK for murder before returning to Nigeria about eight years ago.
In a related crackdown, a Milan-based Nigerian, Gabriel Michael, was arrested on 5 September at MMIA while attempting to board an Air France flight to Italy. He was caught with 24,480 pills of tramadol concealed in his luggage, which he confessed he intended to sell in Italy for €19,520.
Beyond Lagos, NDLEA extended its dragnet to other parts of the country. On 4 September, a joint examination with Nigeria Customs and other security agencies at the West Africa Container Terminal in Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers State, uncovered 160,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup concealed in a 40-foot container loaded with sanitary wares. The consignment, tracked by NDLEA’s special operations unit, had a street value of N1.1 billion.
In the Federal Capital Territory, operatives on 4 September arrested a dispatch rider, Joel Bernard, 32, in Gwarimpa with 3.1 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis strain. On 1 September in Lagos, operatives apprehended Tunde Ayinla, 47, and Olawale Omotare, 54, while loading four distribution vehicles at their Surulere residence. A search produced 625 kilograms of assorted cannabis strains, including Canadian Loud, Colorado, and Ghana Loud compressed blocks. In another raid, a couple, Andy David, 43, and his wife, Andy Esther, 44, were arrested with 24.4 kilograms of skunk at their Ajegunle home.
The sweep extended further with the arrest of 45-year-old Musa Isah in Kogi State with 53.4 kilograms of skunk hidden in his car, and Yunusa Zakari, 23, in Edo State in connection with a 233-kilogram seizure in Kaduna. Similarly, in Onitsha, Anambra State, Ayouk Nelson, 28, was arrested with 11,000 tramadol pills, while a separate operation along Minna-Bida Road in Niger State netted 342 kilograms of skunk concealed in 30 bags inside a Toyota Hilux vehicle driven by 54-year-old Afolayan Ayodele.
In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives destroyed 18,750 kilograms of cannabis cultivated on 7.5 hectares at Joro-Ade village, Ardo Kola Local Government Area, and arrested the farm owners, 55-year-old Mako Zmar and 45-year-old Sani Titus.
Complementing these operations, NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued nationwide, with sensitisation lectures and advocacy visits in Nasarawa, Kano, Anambra, and Kogi States, targeting correctional officers, traditional leaders, and professional associations.
While commending the gallant efforts of NDLEA operatives across multiple states, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged them to intensify their balanced approach to drug control. He noted that the latest string of seizures and arrests further demonstrates NDLEA’s determination to dismantle criminal networks fueling drug trafficking in Nigeria and beyond.
