Dismantles laboratory, recovers 148.3kg of Colorado, other illicit drugs

Operatives of a special operations unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 40-year-old wanted drug lord, Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, while on his way to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, a holy pilgrimage.

He was apprehended after months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on his criminal drug network.

The drug kingpin had previously been arrested and charged with drug offences in the United Kingdom but jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria. Upon settling in Lagos, he established a large clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area for the production of Colorado, a deadly synthetic cannabis, and other illicit substances.

According to the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, Yussuf was arrested at about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 6, while attempting to board his flight to Saudi Arabia. He was immediately taken to his residence at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, where the illegal laboratory had been under surveillance.

At the time of his arrest, Yussuf was in the company of another suspect, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun. Inside the building, operatives from the Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring dismantled the laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals, and already produced substances, including 148.3 kilogrammes of Colorado.

At the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, Lagos, NDLEA operatives, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, discovered 105.5 kilogrammes of Molly, a designer drug, and 500 grammes of methamphetamine during a joint inspection of a shipment on Friday, November 7.

In Niger State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a Volvo truck marked GRZ 872 XA along the Kainji–Wawa road, driven by 35-year-old Ibrahim Mohammed, who was conveying 87,000 pills of tramadol and 72 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis.

Similarly, 34,520 capsules of tramadol were found concealed in different compartments of a Toyota Corolla car marked GAN 102 AR, intercepted along the Zaki-Biam–Wukari road. The driver, 25-year-old Aliyu Samaila, was arrested. The opioids were reportedly loaded in Onitsha, Anambra State, and were bound for Cameroon.

In Taraba State, NDLEA officers arrested 28-year-old Felix Tanko Chinedu with 15,020 capsules of tramadol at Kasuwabera ATC in Ardo Kola Local Council.

In Kogi State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Okene–Lokoja highway on Wednesday, November 5, intercepted a consignment of 7.6 kilogrammes of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis. A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of the owner, 40-year-old Chukwunonso Anieze, while another 175,000 pills of opioids were recovered from a related consignment at the same location that day.

Three suspects: 39-year-old Olayide Oyidiran, 28-year-old Abdulsalam Abdulsalam, and 39-year-old Opeyemi Tijjani were arrested at the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate with 769 kilogrammes of skunk being conveyed in a truck marked TRE 897 BE from Lagos to Kano via Owo, Ondo State.

A 73-year-old grandfather, James Ugbedo, was arrested on Friday, November 7, in a cannabis plantation at Igbeshi Forest, Imiakebo, Etsako East Local Council of Edo State, where 1,459.75 kilogrammes of skunk were destroyed and 5.6 kilogrammes recovered. Similarly, a 70-year-old grandmother, Mrs Comfort Odudu, was arrested at Onopa, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Tuesday, November 4, with 5 kilogrammes of skunk.

Meanwhile, the Agency’s commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities during the week.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers and men of the Special Operations Unit, DFCM, Tincan, Edo, Taraba, Kaduna, Kogi, Niger, and Bayelsa Commands for their successful operations.

He urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain their balanced approach to the Agency’s drug control efforts.

“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, barely a week after similar actions against another cartel in Ajao Estate, Lagos, show that these are the first of many strikes against merchants of death who prey on the weak in our communities,” Marwa said.

“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 down and bring them to justice,” he added.
Photo: NDLEA suspects new. Caption: Suspect with seized illicit drugs