Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted drug lord, Yussuf Azeez, and dismantled a major synthetic drug production laboratory in Lekki, Lagos State.
Azeez, 40, was apprehended on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
According to a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect had previously been arrested and charged for drug offences in the United Kingdom, but jumped bail and fled to Nigeria, where he later established a clandestine laboratory for producing Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
“Soon after settling in Lagos, he set up a massive clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area for the production of Colorado and other illicit substances,” Babafemi said.
At the time of his arrest, Azeez was reportedly in the company of Abideen Kekere-Ekun, 43. NDLEA operatives subsequently raided the laboratory located at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, where they seized 148.3 kilogrammes of Colorado, precursor chemicals, and production equipment.
Meanwhile, in a related operation at the Sifax Bonded Terminal, Okota, Lagos, NDLEA operatives working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies intercepted 105.5 kilogrammes of Molly (a designer drug) and 500 grams of methamphetamine during a cargo examination on Friday, November 7.
The statement also detailed a series of coordinated arrests and seizures across multiple states:
- Niger State: Ibrahim Mohammed (35) was arrested along the Kainji–Wawa Road with 87,000 tramadol pills and 72 kilogrammes of cannabis in a Volvo truck.
- Taraba State: Felix Chinedu (28) was apprehended with 15,020 tramadol capsules at Kasuwabera ATC, Ardo Kola LGA.
- Kogi State: NDLEA seized 7.6 kilogrammes of “Loud” cannabis along the Okene–Lokoja Highway; a follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of Chukwunonso Anieze (40).
- Abuja–Kaduna Tollgate: Olayide Oyidiran (39), Abdulsalam Abdulsalam (28), and Opeyemi Tijjani (39) were caught with 769 kilogrammes of skunk hidden in a truck marked TRE 897 BE, en route from Lagos to Kano.
- Edo State: James Ugbedo (73) was arrested at a cannabis plantation in Igbeshi Forest, Etsako East LGA, where officers destroyed 1,459.75 kilogrammes of cannabis and evacuated another 5.6 kilogrammes.
- Bayelsa State: Comfort Odudu (70) was arrested at Onopa, Yenagoa, with 5 kilogrammes of cannabis.
Babafemi reaffirmed NDLEA’s commitment to dismantling the operations of drug cartels across the country, regardless of the sophistication of their networks or the profiles of their members.
