The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has struck another major blow against a trans-border cocaine trafficking syndicate with the arrest of a female drug kingpin and the recovery of 23.50 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside her children’s room in Lagos.
The arrest, carried out at the suspect’s Surulere residence, came after months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by NDLEA operatives, who tracked her movements following the dismantling of a cocaine cartel operating across Lagos and Ogun states in May 2024.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, said the suspect had gone underground for about 20 months after the earlier crackdown on the syndicate, which was led by a married couple.
Babafemi recalled that the cartel was busted on May 25, 2024, when operatives of the NDLEA Special Operations Unit arrested the couple at Ibiye, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, while they were attempting to cross the land border to Ghana with a large cocaine consignment.
He said 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms were recovered from the couple at the point of arrest. A follow-up search of their residence at OPIC Extension, Petedo Road, Agbara, Ogun State, led to the discovery of an additional eight blocks of cocaine weighing 10 kilograms.
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The combined seizures brought the total quantity of cocaine recovered from the couple to 57.5 kilograms, valued at several billions of naira.
Babafemi said NDLEA operatives sustained intelligence-driven operations to track down other members of the drug trafficking organisation, leading to the identification of a 39-year-old female suspect as a key stash keeper for the syndicate.
He explained that the suspect was eventually trailed to her home on Tuesday, Dec. 9, where a thorough search uncovered blocks of cocaine weighing 23.50 kilograms concealed in a black suitcase kept in her children’s room.
The suspect reportedly admitted ownership of the drug consignment, which the NDLEA estimated to have a street value of over N5 billion.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman of the NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, commended officers and men of the Special Operations Unit, as well as the MMIA and Seme commands, for their professionalism, vigilance and operational dexterity.
Marwa urged NDLEA personnel nationwide to remain extra alert during the festive season, stressing the need to maintain the highest standards of professionalism in drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts throughout the period and beyond.
NAN
