After months of intelligence gathering and surveillance, the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have successfully arrested a notorious wanted drug lord, Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport while on his way to Saudi Arabia to perform a lesser hajj known as Umrah.
According to a Sunday statement signed by the agency spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, Azeez established a drug laboratory in Lagos after he was previously charged with drug offences in the United Kingdom.
The statement reads, “A wanted drug lord 40-year-old Yussuf Abayomi Azeez has been arrested by operatives of a special operations unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos while on his way to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, a holy pilgrimage, after months of intelligence and surveillance on him and his criminal drug activities.
“The drug kingpin had been arrested and charged for drug offences in the United Kingdom, but jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria. Soon after settling down in Lagos, he set up a massive clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area of the state for the production of Colorado, a deadly synthetic cannabis and other illicit substances.
It added, “At about 6:30 am on Thursday, 6th November 2025, Yussuf walked into the waiting hands of NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport while attempting to board his flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah. He was swiftly driven to his 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, clandestine laboratory, which has been under surveillance for a while. At the time of his arrest, Yussuf was found in the company of another suspect, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun.
“Inside the massive building, operatives from the Agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring were able to dismantle all installed laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals and already produced illicit substances, including Colorado, all weighing 148.3 kilograms.”
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In another similar operation, “At the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, Lagos, NDLEA operatives in conjunction with men of Customs Service and other security agencies on Friday 7th November discovered 105.5kg Molly, a designer drug and 500grams of methamphetamine during a joint examination of a shipment.”
Also in Niger state, “NDLEA operatives on Thursday 6th November intercepted Ibrahim Mohammed, 35, in a Volvo truck marked GRZ 872 XA along Kainji-Wawa road while conveying 87,000 pills of tramadol and 72kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis.”
Also in Anambra State, “Not less than 34,520 capsules of tramadol were found concealed in different compartments of a Toyota Corolla car marked GAN 102 AR intercepted along Zaki-Biam – Wukari road on Monday, 3rd November, while the driver, Aliyu Samaila, 25, was arrested. The opioids were loaded from Onitsha, Anambra State, and heading to Cameroon.”
In another operation in Taraba, “NDLEA officers on Thursday, 6th November arrested a suspect, Felix Tanko Chinedu, 28, with 15,020 capsules of tramadol at Kasuwabera ATC in Ardo Kola LGA.”
While commending the officers and men of SOP, DFCM, Tincan, Edo, Taraba, Kaduna, Kogi, Niger and Bayelsa Commands for the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
“The dismantling of yet another clandestine laboratory for the production of Colorado and other dangerous synthetic substances and the arrest of the kingpin behind it in Lekki, coming barely a week after similar actions were taken against another cartel in Ajao estate Lagos shows that these are no doubt the first in the series of what will be many strikes against merchants of death who prey on the weak in our communities. Let it be known to those still hiding in the dark that the NDLEA, supported by our local and international law enforcement partners, will continue to hunt them and bring them to justice”, Marwa added.
