Saudi-bound wanted drug lord arrested as NDLEA raids clandestine lab in Lagos
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted drug baron, Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, 40, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah pilgrimage.
A statement by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said Azeez, who had been on the agency’s watchlist following months of intelligence and surveillance, was previously arrested and charged for drug offences in the United Kingdom before jumping bail and fleeing to Nigeria.
He later established a large clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area of Lagos for the production of Colorado—a lethal synthetic cannabis—and other illicit drugs.
At about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, NDLEA operatives intercepted Azeez at the Lagos airport and immediately led him to his secret facility located at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under close monitoring.
He was arrested alongside Abideen Kekere-Ekun, 43.
Inside the building, officers from the NDLEA directorate of forensic and chemical monitoring dismantled the laboratory and seized 148.3 kilograms of Colorado, precursor chemicals, and production equipment.
In a related operation at the Sifax Bonded Terminal in Okota, Lagos, NDLEA operatives, working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, discovered 105.5 kilograms of “Molly”—a designer drug—and 500 grams of methamphetamine during a joint cargo examination on Friday, November 7.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives in Niger state on November 6, intercepted Ibrahim Mohammed, 35, with 87,000 pills of tramadol and 72kg of skunk in a Volvo truck along the Kainji–Wawa road.
Similarly, a Toyota Corolla conveying 34,520 capsules of tramadol from Onitsha, Anambra state, to Cameroon was intercepted along the Zaki-Biam–Wukari road on Monday, November 3, leading to the arrest of Aliyu Samaila, 25.
In Taraba state, officers arrested Felix Tanko Chinedu, 28, with 15,020 capsules of tramadol at Kasuwabera ATC, Ardo Kola LGA, on Thursday, November 6.
NDLEA operatives in Kogi State also intercepted 7.6 kilograms of “Loud”, a potent strain of cannabis, along the Okene–Lokoja highway on Wednesday, November 5. A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of Chukwunonso Anieze, 40, identified as the owner, and the recovery of 175,000 opioid pills from another consignment.
The same day, three suspects—Olayide Oyidiran (39), Abdulsalam Abdulsalam (28), and Opeyemi Tijjani (39)—were arrested at the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate with 769kg of skunk concealed in a truck marked TRE 897 BE, en route from Lagos to Kano.
In Edo state, a 73-year-old man, James Ugbedo, was arrested on Friday, November 7, at a cannabis plantation in Igbeshi forest, Etsako East LGA, where NDLEA operatives destroyed 1,459.75kg of skunk and evacuated 5.6kg of the same substance. In Bayelsa State, a 70-year-old woman, Mrs. Comfort Odudu, was nabbed at Onopa, Yenagoa, with 5kg of skunk on Tuesday, November 4.
Commending the various commands for their successful operations, Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, urged officers to sustain the momentum.
“The dismantling of another clandestine laboratory for Colorado production and the arrest of its kingpin in Lekki, barely a week after a similar operation in Ajao Estate, signals our resolve to continue striking hard at drug cartels,” he said.
“Those hiding in the shadows should know that the NDLEA, with support from local and international partners, will keep hunting them down and bringing them to justice.”
