The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 39-year-old female drug kingpin, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, in Surulere, Lagos, recovering 23.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her children’s room.
The arrest, carried out on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, followed months of intelligence-led surveillance.
NDLEA said Simbiat went underground after the dismantling of a cocaine trafficking cartel in May 2024.
The cartel, led by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, was busted along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway while attempting to smuggle cocaine to Ghana.
Operatives recovered 57.5 kilograms of cocaine from the couple in Lagos and Ogun states.
A follow-up investigation identified Simbiat as a key stash keeper in the trans-border drug trafficking organisation.
A search of her residence at Onasanya Street, Surulere, led to the discovery of the cocaine hidden in a suitcase. NDLEA said she admitted ownership of the drugs, valued at over ₦5 billion on the streets.
In related operations, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, with 1,020 pills of tramadol and tapentadol concealed in his luggage while attempting to fly to Milan, Italy.
At the Seme border, officers arrested a Beninoise national, Leocardi Josu, with 3,400 tramadol tablets, while other arrests and seizures were recorded across Kogi, Oyo, Osun and Kaduna states.
Commending the officers involved, NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged operatives to remain vigilant during the festive season.
“Drug traffickers must know that there is no hiding place anywhere in the country,” Marwa said, adding that the agency will sustain both drug supply reduction and public sensitisation efforts nationwide.
