Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted drug baron, Yussuf Azeez, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The 40-year-old suspect was intercepted on Thursday, November 6, 2025, while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Azeez had previously been arrested and charged with drug-related offences in the United Kingdom, but jumped bail and fled to Nigeria.
“The drug kingpin had been arrested and charged for drug offences in the United Kingdom, but jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria. Soon after settling in Lagos, he established a massive clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area for the production of Colorado and other illicit substances,” Babafemi said.
He said NDLEA operatives apprehended Azeez around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday at the Lagos airport as he attempted to leave the country. The suspect was subsequently taken to his laboratory at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under surveillance for several weeks.
At the time of his arrest, Azeez was in the company of Abideen Kekere-Ekun, 43. Inside the building, operatives from the Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring dismantled sophisticated laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals, and quantities of illicit substances, including 148.3 kilograms of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives, working jointly with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, intercepted 105.5 kilograms of Molly, a designer drug, and 500 grams of methamphetamine during the examination of a shipment at the Sifax Bonded Terminal, Okota, Lagos, on Friday, November 7.
In Niger State, operatives arrested Ibrahim Mohammed, 35, along the Kainji–Wawa Road on Thursday, November 6, while conveying 87,000 tramadol pills and 72 kilograms of cannabis in a Volvo truck.
Similarly, a Toyota Corolla with registration number GAN 102 AR was intercepted along the Zaki-Biam–Wukari Road on Monday, November 3, with 34,520 capsules of tramadol concealed in hidden compartments. The driver, Aliyu Samaila, 25, was arrested. Investigations revealed the drugs were loaded in Onitsha, Anambra State, and destined for Cameroon.
In Taraba State, operatives arrested Felix Chinedu, 28, on Thursday, November 6, with 15,020 tramadol capsules at Kasuwabera ATC, in Ardo Kola Local Government Area.
In Kogi State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Okene–Lokoja Highway on Wednesday, November 5, seized 7.6 kilograms of Loud, another strain of cannabis. A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of the owner, Chukwunonso Anieze, 40.
Also, three suspects — Olayide Oyidiran (39), Abdulsalam Abdulsalam (28), and Opeyemi Tijjani (39) — were arrested at the Abuja–Kaduna Tollgate on Wednesday, November 5, with 769 kilograms of skunk concealed in a truck marked TRE 897 BE. The consignment was reportedly transported from Lagos and was en route to Kano.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers arrested James Ugbedo, a 73-year-old man, on Friday, November 7, at a cannabis plantation in the Igbeshi Forest, Imiakebo, Etsako East Local Government Area. Officers destroyed 1,459.75 kilograms of cannabis on the farm and evacuated another 5.6 kilograms.
Similarly, in Bayelsa State, a 70-year-old woman, Comfort Odudu, was arrested on Tuesday, November 4, at Onopa, Yenagoa, with 5 kilograms of cannabis.
“A 73-year-old grandpa, James Ugbedo, was arrested in Edo State where 1,459.75 kilograms of skunk were destroyed, while a 70-year-old grandma, Mrs. Comfort Odudu, was nabbed in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with 5 kilograms of the same substance,” Babafemi added.
Babafemi noted that the NDLEA has intensified its nationwide operations targeting drug cartels, clandestine laboratories, and trafficking networks amid the growing production and smuggling of synthetic drugs across the country.
