The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled two major drug cartels responsible for six cocaine consignments bound for the United Kingdom.
The operations, conducted over three weeks across Lagos, resulted in the arrest of six suspects, including the alleged ringleader, Alhaji Hammed Taofeek Ode. NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, revealed this in a statement on Sunday.
According to Babafemi, the crackdown began on 16 September 2025, when NDLEA officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, intercepted 174 parcels of cocaine weighing 13.4 kilograms, hidden in cocoa butter body cream containers. The traffickers had also concealed the drugs inside stainless cups, body cream, and hair gel containers.
A cargo agent linked to the consignment was arrested, and further investigation traced the shipment to Ode, who was later apprehended with police assistance. During questioning, Ode confessed to owning the drugs, which he claimed to have purchased for more than ₦150 million.
Babafemi explained that the intelligence-led operations, which spanned over three weeks, successfully dismantled the two syndicates behind the shipments. Ode, who posed as a businessman and real estate developer, had lived in several European countries — including Austria, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia — before settling in the UK in 2024.
Additionally, NDLEA officers intercepted two more cocaine-laden consignments on 2 October at the MMIA export shed. These shipments were disguised as crayfish and contained stainless cups and hair cream containers concealing 2.6 kilograms of cocaine. Two suspects, Ogunbiyi Oluseye Taiwo and Popoola Francis Olumuyiwa, were subsequently arrested.
The NDLEA, Nigeria’s federal agency for combating drug trafficking and abuse, has continued to thwart attempts to smuggle cocaine and other narcotics abroad, often uncovering sophisticated concealment methods.