Source: Africa Publicity
A wanted drug kingpin, 40-year-old Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
In a statement released on November 9, 2025 and signed by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA said Azeez’s arrest followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on his alleged drug trafficking network.
According to the statement, Azeez had previously been arrested and charged with drug offences in the United Kingdom but jumped bail and fled to Nigeria, where he resumed his illicit activities.
Upon returning, he established a large clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area of Lagos for the production of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, and other illicit substances.
At about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 6, 2025, NDLEA operatives arrested Azeez at the airport and subsequently led him to his laboratory located at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under surveillance. He was arrested alongside another suspect, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun.
The statement added that NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring dismantled all laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals, and recovered 148.3 kilograms of already produced illicit substances, including Colorado.
