The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a wanted drug lord, Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, while he was preparing to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

The 40-year-old fugitive, who previously faced drug charges in the United Kingdom before absconding to Nigeria, had established a clandestine laboratory in Lekki for the production of Colorado, a potent synthetic cannabis, along with other illicit substances, a statement by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director, Media & Advocacy, revealed on Sunday.

According to the statement, at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, 6 November 2025, Azeez was intercepted by a special operations unit of the NDLEA while attempting to board his flight. He was accompanied by 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun. Following his arrest, operatives immediately proceeded to his laboratory at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, where they dismantled all laboratory equipment and recovered 148.3 kilograms of Colorado and precursor chemicals.

In a separate operation, a joint NDLEA and Customs Service examination at Sifax bonded terminal, Okota, Lagos on 7 November revealed 105.5 kilograms of Molly, a designer drug, and 500 grams of methamphetamine.

Other arrests and seizures occurred across the country. In Niger State, NDLEA officers intercepted 35-year-old Ibrahim Mohammed on 6 November along Kainji-Wawa Road in a Volvo truck carrying 87,000 tramadol pills and 72 kilograms of skunk cannabis. On 3 November, 25-year-old Aliyu Samaila was apprehended in Taraba State transporting 34,520 tramadol capsules in a Toyota Corolla from Onitsha, Anambra State, en route to Cameroon. Another Taraba arrest involved Felix Tanko Chinedu, 28, with 15,020 tramadol capsules at Kasuwabera ATC, Ardo Kola LGA, on 6 November.

In Kogi State, operatives seized 7.6 kilograms of Loud cannabis along the Okene/Lokoja highway on 5 November, and a follow-up in Abuja led to the arrest of Chukwunonso Anieze, 40, along with 175,000 opioid pills from a separate consignment. Additionally, on the same day, three suspects—Olayide Oyidiran, 39; Abdulsalam Abdulsalam, 28; and Opeyemi Tijjani, 39—were arrested at Abuja/Kaduna Tollgate with 769 kilograms of skunk cannabis being transported in a truck marked TRE 897 BE from Lagos to Kano via Owo, Ondo State.

The NDLEA also reported the arrest of 73-year-old James Ugbedo in a cannabis plantation at Igbeshi Forest, Imiakebo, Etsako East LGA, Edo State, where 1,459.75 kilograms of skunk were destroyed and 5.6 kilograms seized. On 4 November, 70-year-old Comfort Odudu was apprehended at Onopa, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with five kilograms of skunk cannabis.

In addition to enforcement operations, the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation programmes across schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities. Lectures and outreach sessions were conducted in various locations, including Transfiguration Seminary Secondary School, Abakaliki; Day Secondary School, Sabonkasuwa Kontagora, Niger State; Immanuel College High School, Ibadan, Oyo State; Government Girls Secondary School, Ilelah, Sokoto; Government Day Secondary School, Namtari, Adamawa; and among NURTW members in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.

Commenting on the recent operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) commended the officers for the successful interdictions and urged continued diligence. He highlighted the dismantling of the Lekki laboratory as part of ongoing national efforts against drug trafficking and warned that the Agency, with the support of local and international law enforcement partners, would persist in pursuing drug traffickers.
“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, demonstrate that our operations against merchants of death are ongoing. Those still hiding should know that the NDLEA will continue to hunt them and bring them to justice,” Marwa stated.

The arrests form part of a wider nationwide campaign by the NDLEA to curb the production and distribution of illicit drugs while promoting public awareness of the dangers of substance abuse.