Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted drug kingpin, Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, as he attempted to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the arrest came after months of surveillance and intelligence gathering on Azeez’s alleged criminal operations in Lagos.
The 40-year-old suspect, previously arrested and charged for drug-related crimes in the United Kingdom, reportedly jumped bail and fled to Nigeria.
“Soon after settling down in Lagos, he set up a massive clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area for the production of Colorado, a deadly synthetic cannabis, and other illicit substances,” Babafemi said.
The NDLEA’s special operations unit carried out the arrest at about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at the Lagos airport.
The suspect was immediately taken to his secret drug laboratory located at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under surveillance for weeks.
Inside the building, operatives from the agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring dismantled the entire laboratory setup, seizing equipment, precursor chemicals, and 148.3 kilograms of Colorado and other drugs.
A second suspect, Abideen Kekere-Ekun (43), was also arrested at the scene.
Babafemi added, “At the time of his arrest, Yussuf was in the company of another suspect.
Inside the massive building, our team dismantled all the installed laboratory equipment and recovered already produced drugs.”
Meanwhile, in a separate operation at the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, Lagos, NDLEA officers working in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies intercepted a shipment containing 105.5 kilograms of Molly, a designer drug, along with 500 grams of methamphetamine.
The joint examination of the consignment took place on Friday, November 7, 2025.
The NDLEA noted that these coordinated operations demonstrate its renewed determination to dismantle drug networks operating across Nigeria.
“These busts show our commitment to ending the production and trafficking of illicit substances in the country.
No criminal, no matter how sophisticated, can hide forever,” Babafemi emphasized.
The NDLEA arrests drug kingpin case has since sparked conversations about the growing trend of local production of synthetic drugs in Nigeria.
Moreover, authorities believe the successful dismantling of the Lekki lab marks another major victory in the country’s ongoing war against narcotics.
Furthermore, the agency assured the public that all suspects would face prosecution once investigations are completed.
