Crystal Charles
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a major international drug cartel operating across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates, recovering narcotics valued at more than ₦6.4 billion.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency said the operation began on August 26 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. NDLEA operatives intercepted 76 cartons of textile materials bound for Sydney, Australia, concealing 16 blocks of cocaine weighing 17.9kg and hidden with local charms believed to be for protection.
A freight agent, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, was arrested in connection with the shipment, which the agency said had a street value of AU$5.3 million (₦5.3 billion).
Further investigations led to the arrests of two kingpins: Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, described as the syndicate’s Nigerian coordinator, and Shola Adegoke, another senior member. Ogunbiyi was apprehended in Ikeja GRA on September 3, with 21 parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis, a pump-action rifle, and cartridges later recovered from his Lekki residence. Adegoke was picked up at a packaging facility in Ikeja GRA, where 9.6kg of Loud was found inside a Range Rover SUV.
According to NDLEA, both men have criminal histories abroad. Adegoke had previously served a jail term in the UK for methamphetamine trafficking, while Ogunbiyi completed a 14-year sentence in Britain for murder.
The agency also identified Adebisi Ademola Omoyele, alias Mr Bee, based in Dubai, as the cartel’s overall leader managing overseas operations.
In another major bust, a joint NDLEA–Customs operation at Onne Port, Rivers State, uncovered 160,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup concealed in ceramic sanitary wares, with an estimated value of ₦1.1 billion.
Separate raids across Lagos, Abuja, Kogi, Edo, Kaduna, Anambra, Niger, and Taraba States yielded further seizures of cannabis, Colorado, and Loud. These included 625kg of cannabis recovered in Surulere, Lagos, and the destruction of 18.7 tonnes of skunk on two plantations in Taraba.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA also arrested Gabriel Michael, a Milan-based Nigerian, attempting to smuggle 24,480 tramadol tablets to Italy. He confessed the consignment was expected to fetch €19,520.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), commended the operatives for their efforts and urged sustained vigilance under the agency’s balanced strategy of enforcement and its War Against Drug Abuse advocacy campaign.