In series of intelligence led operations that lasted over three weeks across Lagos, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully dismantled two major drug cartels.
It was reports that the cartels are behind six different consignments of cocaine concealed in walls of stainless cups, body cream and hair gel containers, leading to the arrest of five suspects and ultimately the arrowhead of the syndicate, Alhaji Hammed Taofeek Ode who parades as a businessman and real estate developer.
According to a statement on Sunday by the Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the beginning of the end of the criminal syndicate’s operations began on 16th September 2025 when operatives at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos intercepted 174 parcels of cocaine weighing 13.40 kilograms concealed in walls of cocoa butter body cream containers.
He stated that a cargo agent was promptly arrested, promoting further investigations to reveal Alhaji Hammed Taofeek Ode as the mastermind of the shipment and after weeks of intelligence, it was established that the drug baron had reported a dispute at the Zone 2 headquarters of the Police in Lagos, after which the Agency sought the cooperation of the police to get the suspect into custody.
The statement continues: “During his preliminary interview, Alhaji Hammed Ode admitted ownership of the consignment which he claimed he bought at over N150 million. He claimed to be a businessman and estate developer following his return from the United Kingdom in 2024. He had lived for over 27 years in many European countries including Austria, Netherlands, France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia before settling in the UK.
“In like manner, five other desperate attempts by another criminal syndicate to export cocaine consignments to the United Kingdom were also thwarted by operatives of the MMIA Strategic Command of NDLEA. The unravelling of the gang started on 26th September following the seizure
of 2.10kg cocaine concealed in walls of hair cream containers at the export shed of the Lagos airport.
“The apprehension of a cargo agent led to the arrest of the consignor, Smith David Korede, a furniture maker, on Tuesday 30th September at his 3 Arowojobe street, Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos base where another consignment of 1.40kg cocaine meant for export to the UK was recovered from him. Same day, another consignment of 1.00kg cocaine with similar mode of concealment also going to the UK was also intercepted at the export shed of the airport.
“The cargo agent arrested in connection with the 1.00kg cocaine also identified Smith David Korede as the consignor, bringing to three the number of seized cocaine consignments linked to the suspect.
“Two other cocaine laden consignments going to the UK were also intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the MMIA on Thursday 2nd October. Two suspects: Ogunbiyi Oluseye Taiwo and Popoola Francis Olumuyiwa linked to the seizures were promptly arrested. One of the consignments contains crayfish, and 12 pieces of stainless cups used to conceal 1.00kg cocaine while the second consignment also contains crayfish, and 36 containers of hair cream used to conceal 1.60kg of cocaine.
“The bid by another criminal gang to smuggle into Lagos 6.3 kilograms of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis concealed in bedsheet and hibiscus flower from Thailand was equally thwarted by NDLEA operatives attached to some courier companies, while a joint operation between NDLEA officers and Customs Service personnel at a check point along Danbatta-Daura road, Kano, on Thursday 2nd October led to the arrest of 38-year-old Sa’adu Ali and seizure of 290, 450 pills of tramadol 250mg and pregabalin capsules.
“In Lagos, a notorious drug dealer John Igbe, operating under the nickname: SammyBless to distribute illicit drugs in Lekki and Ajah axis, was on Tuesday 30th September arrested at Admiralty road, Lekki. At the time of his arrest, 550 grams of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, packaged in retail plastic cups, were recovered from him. Three other suspects: Idris Lukman; Fuad Abdulsalam and Mobolaji James were nabbed same day in Mushin area of the state, with 109kg skunk, 20 bottles of codeine syrup and 2kg of nitrous oxide seized from them. At the Trade Fair Complex, Alaba area of the state, 3,700 bottles of codeine syrup and 550,000 caplets of expired 225mg diclofenac were recovered.
“While a total of 27,700 pills of tramadol 100mg/225mg were seized from a suspect Salisu Abubakar, 25, at Bode Saadu, Morro LGA, Kwara state on Monday 29th September, Blessing Ovaka, 50, was caught with 498.5kg skunk at Kudandan, Chukun LGA, Kaduna, same day, just as Dahiru Salisu, 27, was arrested in possession of 34,180 capsules of tramadol at Gwargwaje along Kaduna – Zaria road on Thursday 2nd October.
“In Ogun state, NDLEA operatives on Monday 29th September raided Isheri, Obafemi Owode LGA, where a suspect, Abubakar Audu, was arrested with 112kg skunk and 16grams of tramadol. Three suspects: Chuimieze Shedrack, 28; Sunday John, 25, and Solomon Okopko, 27, were nabbed by NDLEA officers on Thursday 2nd October at Owena/Ijesha forest reserve, Osun state where they destroyed 14,000kg skunk on 5.6 hectares of cannabis plantation and recovered 142kg of same psychoactive substance.
“In Edo, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 1st October intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle marked KUJ 47 NW loaded with 22 bags of skunk weighing 244.5kg at Igbanke, Orhionwon LGA and a suspect Ineh Excellent Obindi, 28, arrested. A total of 10,897.35kg skunk was destroyed on four farms measuring 4.358938 hectares at Ugbodo forest, Ovia North East LGA, on Friday 3rd October, with two suspects: Michael Ayang, 40, and Bernard New Year, (a.ka Don), 47, arrested. Not less than 223.5kg processed cannabis and seeds were recovered from the farms.
“Operatives on patrol along Okene/Lokoja highway intercepted a waybill parcel coming from Lagos to Abuja containing 3.272kg Loud and a sachet of Colorado. A follow up operation at Gwagwalada park in Abuja led to the arrest of the owner, Tobi Odubote, 34, while another suspect Ismail Abdurrahim, 32, was arrested in possession of 25.5kg skunk along Abaji- Abuja expressway on Thursday 2nd October.”
Troops of Operation Fansan Yamma have neutralised several Lakurawa terrorists and destroyed their camps during a clearance operation in Waria Forest, Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The operation, conducted on Thursday, October 15, also led to the recovery of weapons and five motorcycles from the terrorists’ enclave.
The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force North West, Operation Fansan Yamma, Lt Col Aliyu Danja, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday.
Danja said troops of Sector 2 advanced through identified terrorist hideouts around Alela, Bilange and Kandam villages towards Waria Forest, where they made contact with the armed group.
According to him, the troops engaged the terrorists in a firefight and overpowered them with superior firepower, forcing them to abandon their positions and flee deeper into the forest.
“Troops subsequently pursued the fleeing terrorists, neutralising some of them in the process,” he said.
Danja added that further exploitation of the area destroyed the terrorists’ camps and their life-support structures, alongside the recovery of weapons and five motorcycles.
He said troops had sustained their operational presence in the area through continued clearance and domination operations aimed at denying the terrorists freedom of movement and preventing them from using the forest as a haven.
“The latest success underscores the commitment of Operation Fansan Yamma to dismantling terrorist enclaves, denying terrorist elements safe havens and restoring lasting peace and security across the Joint Operations Area,” Danja said.
He commended the troops for their courage, resilience and sustained efforts, while urging residents to provide timely and credible information about suspicious movements and activities in their communities.
Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has warned that Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province remain major security threats in the sub-region, urging security chiefs to intensify efforts to combat insurgency.
Declaring open a two-day meeting of federal and state security administrators in Yola on Thursday, Fintiri said the threats posed by the groups remained persistent, dynamic and ideological.
“While our gallant armed forces have significantly degraded their conventional capabilities, these insurgents continue to exploit vast rural terrains, asymmetric tactics and cross-border vulnerabilities to strike at soft targets.
“However, let me speak with political candour: we cannot afford the luxury of premature victory speeches. Furthermore, we must confront emerging threats that endanger our socio-economic fabric,” he said.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Kaletapwa Farauta, said security was not merely about weapons but also grassroots presence, social justice and inclusive governance.
“It was this conviction that drove our historic decision to create seven new emirates and chiefdoms across Adamawa State,” he said.
Fintiri added that the battleground had shifted to digital spaces, where vulnerable youths were targeted for recruitment and misinformation.
He said the security of Adamawa State was inseparable from that of Nigeria and urged the Federal Government to urgently modernise the country’s international borders.
“We need the deployment of advanced surveillance technology, drone coverage, joint border patrols and the expedited establishment of one-stop border posts to control illegal cross-border migration, arms proliferation and smuggling,” he said.
The governor also urged the Federal Government to increase funding for security agencies to enable them to intensify the fight against insecurity.
“Our frontline officers, the police, the military, the Civil Defence, the DSS and Customs, are doing heroic work under difficult conditions.
“However, their operational funding, tactical equipment and welfare packages must be significantly upgraded by the Federal Government,” he said.
To defeat the insurgency, Fintiri called for genuine inter-agency cooperation and an end to rivalry among security services.
He said the operational disconnect between intelligence-gathering units and field tactical teams must be addressed.
“Victory belongs to unity, not institutional ego,” he said.
Fintiri added that hosting the meeting of the nation’s top security policy strategists reflected Adamawa’s progress in restoring peace and stability.
“For us in Adamawa State, hosting this august gathering of the nation’s top security policy strategists is not just an administrative assignment; it is a testament to our transformation.
“A few years ago, convening a gathering of this magnitude in the North-East was met with hesitation. Today, through visionary leadership, community resilience and divine grace, Adamawa stands tall as a beacon of relative peace, stability and democratic consolidation,” he said.
He challenged the security administrators to move beyond what he described as diagnostic speeches and develop an actionable, pragmatic roadmap to address security challenges in the sub-region.
He also advocated the adoption of unified digital freight and transit-tracking platforms across states and national transport corridors to eliminate illegal checkpoints, trace suspicious cargo and secure trade routes.
The governor donated 300 motorcycles and 16 security vehicles to support policing across the state’s 15 chiefdoms and 21 local government areas.
A car dealer, Chima Edmund, has accused the Lagos State Police Command of releasing a man suspected of attempting to steal a 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup worth about N130m from his showroom in the Victoria Garden City area of Lekki, Lagos State.
Edmund, founder of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, said the suspect allegedly drove the vehicle away from his showroom on Monday after posing as a prospective buyer but crashed it into a canal in the Ajiran area while attempting to escape.
The Toyota Tundra before the incident. Credit: Chima Edmund
The incident went viral on Tuesday, with the dealer estimating the cost of repairing the damaged vehicle at about N40m.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, Edmund said the suspect arrived at the dealership around 4pm carrying a bag and asked to inspect the pickup.
He said a junior staff member attended to the man, who requested the key to the unsold vehicle under the pretext of checking its engine.
The car dealer, Chima Edmund
“On Monday, the guy came to my outlet around 4pm. He met my junior staff and came in with a bag as a customer. He asked for the 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup, which costs around N130m, and demanded the key to check it. He dropped his bag inside it, and the staff watched him start the engine, thinking he only wanted to check it. But the man engaged the gear and drove off,” Edmund said.
According to him, the vehicle exited the dealership through a route that required a supporting slab because of the difference in elevation between the car stand and the main road.
He said the vehicle’s doors locked automatically when the suspect engaged the gear, after which he drove towards the VGC Bridge.
Edmund said his staff member pursued the vehicle but struggled to convince passers-by that the man behind the wheel was not the owner.
He alleged that the suspect drove through a residential estate in Ajah, damaged a barricade at the entrance and continued towards Chevron and Ebeano before heading to Ajiran.
“On getting to Ajiran, he could not find his way again. He realised he had driven to the end of the road, and when he could not proceed, he drove over the canal until the vehicle landed in it. That was when some boys dragged him out,” the dealer said.
Edmund said the escape attempt damaged the pickup and a barricade at the VGC entrance.
He added that he paid for repairs to the barricade and incurred expenses on the treatment of people injured during the incident, as well as the suspect’s feeding and other related costs.
The dealer said he also paid for the suspect’s medical treatment following the crash, adding that the man was not kept in a cell because of the injuries he sustained.
According to Edmund, the case was initially reported at the Ajah Police Division before being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, where two women who identified themselves as the suspect’s mother and sister visited him.
He said the women claimed to be from Agbor, Delta State, adding that he became concerned about recovering his expenses after learning that the suspect had been released on bail.
Edmund alleged that he was pressured to withdraw the case after investigators established that the suspect had a psychiatric condition.
“I am already suspecting foul play in the police dealings because I was hurried to close the case when the man was confirmed to be a psychiatric patient. Just yesterday evening, he had been released on bail.
“For somebody who caused me such heavy damage, how am I going to bear these losses alone, knowing that the culprit has been released? Somebody attempted to steal a car from my outlet. It is sad,” he said.
The dealer appealed for assistance in recovering from the financial losses, saying preliminary estimates put the cost of repairing the damaged Toyota Tundra at about N40m.
Edmund, who said he had been in the automobile business since 1996, described the incident as unprecedented in his nearly three decades in the trade.
He said he had operated in different parts of Lagos, including Berger and FESTAC, before relocating to VGC, adding that he had never experienced a similar incident despite attending to numerous customers over the years.
He said it was difficult to identify suspicious customers by their appearance, noting that some casually dressed clients had purchased vehicles worth more than N200m from his dealership.
Edmund also dismissed suggestions that the vehicle had been left unattended with the suspect, insisting that a proper test drive should involve at least two people accompanying a prospective buyer.
On why the pickup did not have a tracking device, he said it was a new vehicle that had not yet been sold.
According to him, installing a tracker before a vehicle is purchased could require interference with its wiring system and raise concerns among prospective buyers about whether it was a Nigerian-used vehicle.
He added that the pickup had a fuel tank capacity of about 130 litres, but its fuel gauge was already on red, indicating that approximately 30 litres remained when the suspect allegedly drove it away.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Abimbola Adebisi, denied the allegation that the police had improperly released the suspect.
Adebisi said the suspect had been certified as a psychiatric patient by recognised government hospitals and competent courts, adding that the dealer withdrew the case after the information emerged during the investigation.
“The suspect is a psychiatric case, certified by recognised government hospitals and competent courts.
“All these were well known by the complainant in the course of our investigation. This prompted him to submit a withdrawal letter, whereupon the suspect was handed over to his mother for rehabilitation,” she said in a WhatsApp message to our correspondent.
However, PUNCH Metro could not independently verify the police spokesperson’s claims, as she did not provide the documents requested by the correspondent to substantiate the alleged medical certification and withdrawal of the complaint.
