CYRIACUS IZUEKWE
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have busted the Lagos home of Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, a suspected female drug kingpin and prominent member of a notorious trans-border trafficking organisation and recovered N5b worth of cocaine in children’s room.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the successful operation was carried out by the NDLEA following a 20-month manhunt sparked by the arrest of the group’s former leaders.
This was disclosed by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, who confirmed the arrest and recovery of the exhibits.
He explained that the cocaine trafficking cartel, previously headed by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, was smashed in Lagos and Ogun state by the agency, with multi-billion-naira worth of the illicit drug recovered from them.
According to the statement, following the arrest, Simbiat, who went underground since May 2024, was nabbed in her Lagos home, where an additional 23.50 kilograms of the class A drug were recovered from her children’s room.
The statement stated :“The kingpin Lookman and his queen Toheebat were arrested on Saturday, 25th May 2024, by operatives of a special operations unit of NDLEA at Ibiye, along Lagos-Badagry expressway, while attempting to cross the land border to deliver the consignment in Ghana”.
“At the point of their arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms were found on them. A swift follow-up operation in their residence at Plot 24/25 OPIC Extension, Petedo Road, Agbara, Ogun State, led to the recovery of an additional eight blocks of the same drug weighing 10kg, bringing the total weight of the consignment seized from the couple to 57.5 kilograms.”
“Determined to rein in every member of the syndicate, the NDLEA operatives continued with follow-up intelligence and surveillance on the trans-border drug trafficking organisation until a 39-year-old female stash keeper, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, was identified as a key member of the DTO. As a result, she was trailed to her 31 Onasanya Street, Surulere, Lagos residence on Tuesday, 9th December 2025.”
“A thorough search of her home led to the discovery of blocks of cocaine weighing 23.50 kilograms concealed in a black suitcase recovered from her children’s room. She admitted ownership of the drug consignment worth over N5billion in street value” the NDLEA stated.