BREAKING: NDLEA Nabs Notorious Drug Kingpin In Major Nationwide Crackdown [PHOTOS]

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a notorious drug baron, Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, as he attempted to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

According to a statement released on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the 40-year-old suspect was tracked down after months of intensive intelligence gathering and surveillance.

Babafemi revealed that Azeez had previously been arrested and charged with drug-related offences in the United Kingdom, but fled to Nigeria after jumping bail.

“Upon his return, he established a large-scale clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area for the production of Colorado, a highly potent synthetic cannabis, and other illicit substances,” the statement read.

NDLEA operatives apprehended Azeez at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 6, 2025, and immediately led him to his laboratory located at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under close watch. At the facility, another suspect, Abideen Kekere-Ekun (43), was also arrested.

Inside the building, NDLEA forensic experts dismantled the lab setup, seizing 148.3 kilograms of already processed drugs, precursor chemicals, and production equipment.

In a separate operation at the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, uncovered 105.5kg of designer drug ‘Molly’ and 500 grams of methamphetamine during a joint cargo examination on Friday, November 7.

Across other states, the agency conducted a string of successful raids:

• Niger State: Officers intercepted Ibrahim Mohammed (35) along the Kainji-Wawa road with 87,000 tramadol pills and 72kg of skunk concealed in a Volvo truck.

• Taraba State: Aliyu Samaila (25) was arrested along Zaki-Biam–Wukari road with 34,520 tramadol capsules hidden in a Toyota Corolla, while Felix Tanko Chinedu (28) was caught with 15,020 capsules of tramadol in Ardo Kola LGA.

• Kogi State: NDLEA intercepted 7.6kg of Loud, leading to the arrest of Chukwunonso Anieze (40) in Abuja, where 175,000 opioid pills were recovered from another shipment.

• Kaduna-Abuja Expressway: Three suspects — Olayide Oyidiran (39), Abdulsalam Abdulsalam (28), and Opeyemi Tijjani (39) — were apprehended with 769kg of skunk en route to Kano.

• Edo State: A 73-year-old man, James Ugbedo, was arrested at a cannabis plantation in Igbeshi forest, Etsako East LGA, where 1,459.75kg of skunk was destroyed and 5.6kg recovered.

• Bayelsa State: 70-year-old Mrs. Comfort Odudu was caught with 5kg of skunk in Onopa, Yenagoa.

Babafemi noted that the arrests and seizures underscore the NDLEA’s intensified nationwide campaign against drug trafficking networks and illicit drug production.