The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a key female figure in an international cocaine trafficking syndicate, recovering 23.5 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in her children’s room at her residence in Lagos.
The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Shodunke Simbiat, had been on the run since May 2024 following the dismantling of a cocaine cartel led by a couple, Toheebat Dauda and Lookman Dauda. Operatives of the NDLEA tracked and arrested Simbiat at her home on Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, after months of intelligence-led surveillance.
In a statement on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said a thorough search of Simbiat’s residence led to the discovery of blocks of cocaine weighing 23.5kg hidden in a black suitcase recovered from her children’s room. He said the drugs, estimated to be worth over ₦5 billion in street value, were admitted by the suspect to be hers.
Babafemi recalled that the cartel was first smashed on Saturday, May 25, 2024, when NDLEA operatives arrested Lookman Dauda and his wife, Toheebat, along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway at Ibiye while attempting to cross the land border to Ghana with a drug consignment. A total of 47.5kg of cocaine was found on them at the point of arrest.
A follow-up operation at their residence in the OPIC Extension area of Agbara, Ogun State, led to the recovery of an additional 10kg of cocaine, bringing the total seizure from the couple to 57.5kg. Subsequent investigations identified Simbiat as a major stash keeper within the trans-border drug trafficking organisation.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA recorded several other arrests and seizures across the country. At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, operatives intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Destiny, at the Terminal II departure hall with 1,020 pills of tramadol 225mg and tapentadol 200mg concealed in his luggage while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy. The suspect reportedly claimed he would have earned €200 for successfully delivering the drugs.
At the Seme border in Badagry, a 48-year-old Beninoise, Leocardi Josu, was arrested while attempting to enter Nigeria with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg. In Kogi State, a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, was apprehended along the Okene–Lokoja highway with 28.4kg of skunk and Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection from a Toyota Hiace bus along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway. Two suspects, Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30, were also arrested at Challenge Motor Park, Ibadan, with 185.4kg of skunk.
Similarly, a raid on the Owena/Ijesha forest in Osun State led to the seizure of 405kg of skunk and the arrest of a suspect, Charles James, 45. Along the Abuja–Kaduna highway, NDLEA officers arrested Jamilu Zakari, 42, with 14,960 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two sacks of kolanuts en route from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.
Babafemi said the agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities nationwide during the past week.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel across all commands to remain vigilant during the festive season and to uphold the highest standards of professionalism in both drug supply and demand reduction efforts.
