The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced a major breakthrough in its war against narcotics with the dismantling of an international organised criminal group operating between Nigeria, the UK, Brazil, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates.
By Chimezie Godfrey
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced a major breakthrough in its war against narcotics with the dismantling of an international organised criminal group operating between Nigeria, the UK, Brazil, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In a two-week-long intelligence-led operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted large consignments of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, concealed in textile materials and local charms meant for Sydney, Australia. The operation led to the arrest of three cartel leaders and several accomplices across Lagos and Abuja.
The first breakthrough came on Tuesday, August 26, when NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport export shed seized 76 cartons of lace materials. A careful search uncovered 16 blocks of cocaine weighing 17.9kg, cleverly hidden with charms to evade detection. A freight agent, identified as Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, was immediately arrested. The shipment, valued at N5.3 billion, was headed for Sydney.
Follow-up operations exposed other cartel leaders: Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, arrested at an Ikeja GRA hotel on September 3, and Shola Adegoke, picked up at a packaging hub in Ikeja. NDLEA disclosed that Ogunbiyi had once served a 14-year jail term in the UK for murder, while Adegoke was deported from Britain in 2024 after a jail term for methamphetamine trafficking.
Searches at their residences led to the recovery of 21 parcels of Canadian Loud, weighing 10.9kg, firearms, and luxury vehicles. Investigators further revealed that one Adebisi Ademola Omoyele, a.k.a. “Mr. Bee”, currently hiding in Dubai, coordinates the cartel’s overseas operations.
The crackdown extended beyond Lagos. At Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, NDLEA operatives working with Customs uncovered a 40ft container with 160,200 bottles of codeine syrup, disguised as ceramic wares. The illicit consignment, worth over N1.1 billion, was on the agency’s watchlist.
In Abuja, a dispatch rider, Joel Bernard, was arrested in Gwarimpa with 3.1kg of Colorado. Several raids in Lagos also yielded 625kg of cannabis strains including “Loud” and “Colos”, with suspects arrested while loading distribution vehicles. In Ajegunle, a couple was caught with 24.4kg of skunk. Similar operations in Kogi, Edo, Kaduna, Anambra, and Niger states netted more traffickers, with tonnes of cannabis seized. In Taraba, NDLEA destroyed 7.5 hectares of cannabis farms, weighing 18,750kg.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers for their “tireless efforts in dismantling one of the most dangerous networks of traffickers.” He added:
“This seizure underscores the resilience and professionalism of our officers. The balanced approach of law enforcement, drug demand reduction, and sensitisation under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme is yielding results. We must sustain the tempo.”
Marwa also reiterated the agency’s commitment to protecting communities, urging Nigerians to partner with NDLEA by providing credible intelligence on drug traffickers and their collaborators.
NDLEA Busts International Drug Cartel, Seizes N5.3bn Australia-Bound Cocaine, Arrests 3 Kingpins
