NDLEA arrests Saudi-bound wanted drug kingpin, busts colos laboratory in Lagos

Operatives of a special operations unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, have arrested a wanted drug lord, 40-year-old Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, while on his way to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, a holy pilgrimage. Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said the arrest followed months of intelligence and surveillance on him and his criminal drug activities.

Babafemi said, ‘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.

“At about 6.30am 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”. 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.