The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dealt a major blow to international drug trafficking, smashing a cartel that spanned Nigeria, UK, Brazil, Australia, and the UAE, and seizing cocaine, cannabis, and codeine worth over N6.4 billion.
The cartel’s downfall began on August 26, 2025, when NDLEA operatives intercepted 76 cartons of textile materials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Hidden inside the lace fabrics and “fortified” with local charms were 17.9 kilograms of cocaine, bound for Sydney, Australia.
The seizure, valued at over N5.3 billion, led to the arrest of freight agent Olashupo Michael Oladimeji. Rapid investigations unmasked the group’s Nigerian coordinator, Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, and another leader, Shola Adegoke, who were both arrested in Lagos. NDLEA said Ogunbiyi was caught with 10.9kg of Canadian Loud cannabis and a pump-action gun, while Adegoke was picked up at a cartel safe house in Ikeja GRA.
For context, Adegoke had previously been jailed in the UK for methamphetamine trafficking before being deported in 2024, while Ogunbiyi reportedly served a 14-year prison sentence in Britain for murder before returning to Nigeria. Their Dubai-based boss, identified as Adebisi “Mr. Bee” Omoyele, remains at large.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), hailed the breakthrough, stressing that syndicates must abandon hopes of escaping justice.
“This operation shows there is no hiding place for drug cartels. Whether they hide in hotels, disguise their shipments as textiles, or flee abroad, we will dismantle their networks. The fight against drug trafficking is total,” Marwa declared.
Beyond Lagos, the agency carried out sweeping raids nationwide. In Rivers State, operatives intercepted a 40ft container of codeine syrup worth N1.1 billion, concealed in cartons of ceramic sanitary wares. In Abuja, a 32-year-old dispatch rider was caught with 3.1kg of Colorado cannabis, while in Lagos, NDLEA busted a Surulere distribution hub, recovering 625kg of Loud and Colorado strains.
The agency’s dragnet also caught ordinary Nigerians entangled in the trade: a couple in Ajegunle with 24kg of skunk, a driver in Kogi with 53kg hidden in his car trunk, and young men ferrying cannabis through Anambra, Niger, and Kaduna. In Taraba, NDLEA destroyed over 7.5 hectares of cannabis farms.
A Lagos-based parent, who pleaded anonymity, said the seizures gave families hope:
“These drugs are destroying our children. Every time NDLEA takes these poisons off the street, we breathe easier as parents. The fight must never stop.”
At the same time, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy, holding sensitization sessions in prisons, palaces, workplaces, and worship centres across multiple states.
Marwa, in his closing remarks, urged his officers not to relent:
“We must combine seizures with sensitisation. Enforcement alone is not enough; we must save our youths from the grip of illicit drugs. That is the balance NDLEA is pursuing.”
For many Nigerians, the latest bust is both a reassurance and a reminder: the war is far from over, but the net is tightening around those profiting from addiction and misery.
NDLEA Crushes $5.3bn Drug Cartel, Arrests Kingpins as Marwa Warns Syndicates: “Nowhere to Hide”
