Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate that concealed cocaine in tins of palm kernel extract bound for the United Kingdom, arresting key suspects including the alleged kingpin in Lagos.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday, informing that the operation followed three weeks of intelligence gathering and coordinated enforcement actions.
The crackdown began on March 11, 2026, when officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside tins of palm kernel extract at the export shed.
]wo suspects linked to the shipment, Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin, were arrested.
A follow-up sting operation on April 2 led to the arrest of the sender, identified as Ezemuwo Joel, who allegedly operated under a false identity.
His arrest subsequently led operatives to the alleged leader of the syndicate, 52-year-old King Arinze, who was apprehended at a hideout in Isolo, Lagos.
NDLEA operatives later raided a warehouse linked to the suspect at 11 Ola Ifa Street, Bucknor, Isolo, where they recovered 886 tins prepared for drug concealment, along with sealing machines, tin openers, paint sprays, 52 grams of cannabis and a pack of hand gloves.
Authorities said Arinze confessed to draining the oil from the tins to conceal cocaine.
In a separate operation in Borno State, a 28-year-old woman, Aisha Adamu, was arrested along the Gamboru Ngala road with 4.3 kilograms of “Colorado,” a potent synthetic strain of cannabis. She is suspected to be supplying drugs to bandit groups operating across the North-East and neighbouring Chad.
Also in Lagos, a pastor of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Badagry, Afolabi Hodonu, and his wife, Success Hodonu, were arrested at the Gbaji checkpoint on April 2.
NDLEA officers recovered 11 kilograms of skunk concealed in hidden compartments of their vehicle.
Their arrest followed the earlier apprehension of a suspect, Sunday Samuel, who was caught with 24.5 kilograms of skunk along the same route.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers intercepted a trailer carrying 48,000 pills of tramadol along Namtari road in Yola South, leading to the arrest of the driver, Abdulaziz Ismail Korede, and a suspected recipient, Idris Adamu.
Other seizures across the country included 15 kilograms of skunk recovered from a 60-year-old suspect in Osogbo, Osun State; 351 kilograms of skunk seized from a forest in Itaogbolu, Ondo State; and 28,600 capsules of tramadol recovered from a 66-year-old suspect in Benue State.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a suspect, Roland Owie, after raiding a warehouse in Orhionmwon Local Government Area, where 1,378 kilograms of skunk were recovered.
In Oyo State, a 40-year-old suspect, Ayantola Omodunmomi, was arrested in Ibadan following intelligence reports that she allegedly used her 11-year-old daughter to distribute drugs. Officers recovered 45.6 kilograms of skunk from her residence.
The agency also said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued nationwide with sensitisation programmes held in schools across Oyo, Lagos, Kano, Anambra and Zamfara states.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations, describing the arrests and seizures as evidence of the agency’s strengthened intelligence capacity and sustained efforts to curb drug trafficking.
He said the agency would continue to target drug networks, regardless of the methods or cover used.