Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a female drug kingpin in Lagos and recovered 23.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside her children’s room, as the agency intensified nationwide operations against drug trafficking networks.

The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, was apprehended on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at her residence on Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos, following months of intelligence gathering and surveillance. A search of her home led to the discovery of blocks of cocaine weighing 23.5kg hidden inside a black suitcase kept in her children’s room. The illicit drugs are estimated to be worth over N5 billion at street value.

NDLEA investigations revealed that Shodunke was a key member of a trans-border cocaine trafficking syndicate previously dismantled in May 2024. The cartel was led by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, who were arrested by NDLEA operatives along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway while attempting to smuggle cocaine into Ghana. At the time, 57.5kg of cocaine was recovered from the couple and their residence in Ogun State. Shodunke reportedly went into hiding after the earlier arrests but was later tracked and apprehended.

In another operation, NDLEA officers at the Terminal II Departure Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, intercepted a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, on Thursday, December 18, while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy. He was found with 1,020 pills of tramadol and tapentadol concealed in his luggage. The suspect disclosed that he was to receive €200 for delivering the drugs in Italy. At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 48-year-old Beninoise national, Leocardi Josu, on the same day with 3,400 tablets of tramadol. Similarly, a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, was arrested along the Okene–Lokoja highway with 28.4kg of skunk and Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.

In Oyo State, NDLEA officers recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection from a Toyota Hiace bus along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway on Friday, December 19. Earlier, two suspects, Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30, were arrested at Challenge Motor Park, Ibadan, with 185.4kg of skunk.

Meanwhile, 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. In a related operation along the Abuja–Kaduna highway, NDLEA operatives arrested Jamilu Zakari, 42, with 14,960 tablets of tramadol concealed in kolanut sacks en route from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.

Beyond enforcement actions, NDLEA commands across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation programmes during the week, reaching schools, worship centres, transport unions and communities in states including Anambra, Katsina and Ekiti.

Commending the operatives involved in the arrests and seizures, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged officers nationwide to remain vigilant during the festive season and to maintain the highest standards of professionalism in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.