Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted drug baron, Yussuf Azeez, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos while he was attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
Azeez, aged 40, had been on the agency‘s watchlist following months of intelligence and surveillance over his alleged involvement in large-scale illicit drug production and trafficking.
According to the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, Azeez had previously been arrested and charged for drug-related offences in the United Kingdom, but jumped bail and fled to Nigeria.
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After arrival in Nigeria, he later established a clandestine laboratory in Lekki for the production of Colorado, a potent synthetic cannabis, and other illegal substances.
He was apprehended around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, 6 November 2025, and immediately taken to his operational base located at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under surveillance. Another suspect, Abideen Kekere-Ekun, 43, was also arrested at the scene.
During the operation, NDLEA operatives dismantled the illicit laboratory and seized various equipment, precursor chemicals, and already processed drugs weighing 148.3 kilograms.
In other coordinated raids, the Agency recovered large quantities of narcotics across several states.
These included 105.5kg of Molly and 500 grams of methamphetamine at the Sifax bonded terminal in Lagos, 87,000 pills of tramadol and 72kg of skunk in Niger State, and several other consignments of opioids and cannabis in Kogi, Taraba, Edo, and Bayelsa States.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa, commended the operatives for their relentless efforts, describing the arrest and dismantling of the Lekki lab as a major breakthrough in the Agency’s war against drug trafficking.
Marwa reaffirmed the NDLEA’s commitment to intensifying operations against drug cartels, warning that the Agency, with the support of local and international partners, will continue to pursue and bring traffickers to justice.
