Suspected female drug kingpin arrested, cocaine worth N5bn recovered

Image

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a suspected key member of a cocaine trafficking syndicate previously dismantled in Lagos and Ogun states, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat.

The arrest comes about 20 months after operatives of the NDLEA smashed a cocaine cartel led by a couple, Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda, with multi-billion-naira worth of cocaine seized.

Lookman Dauda and Toheebat Dauda were arrested on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at Ibiye along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway while attempting to cross the land border to deliver cocaine to Ghana.

At the point of arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms were recovered from them.

A follow-up operation at their residence at Plot 24/25, OPIC Extension, Petedo Road, Agbara, Ogun State, led to the recovery of eight additional blocks of cocaine weighing 10 kilograms, bringing the total seizure from the couple to 57.5 kilograms.

A statement released on Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said following continued intelligence gathering and surveillance, NDLEA operatives identified 39-year-old Simbiat as a key member and stash keeper of the trans-border drug trafficking organisation.

Babafemi said Simbiat was tracked to her residence on December 9, 2025, and drugs were found hidden in her children’s room worth N5bn. Punch