NDLEA Dismantles Colos Laboratory, Arrests Saudi-Bound Wanted Drug Lord in Lagos
After months of intelligence gathering and surveillance, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a notorious wanted drug lord, Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos. Azeez was apprehended while attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, the lesser Hajj. According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the 40-year-old suspect had previously been arrested and charged with drug offences in the United Kingdom before jumping bail and fleeing to Nigeria. Upon his return, he allegedly established a large-scale drug production laboratory in the Lekki area of Lagos, specializing in the manufacture of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis. “At about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 6, 2025, Yussuf walked into the waiting hands of NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport while attempting to board his flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah,” the statement said. “He was swiftly taken to his clandestine laboratory located at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under surveillance for some time.” During the operation, NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring dismantled the facility and seized laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals, and already processed substances, including Colorado, weighing 148.3 kilograms. Azeez was arrested alongside Abideen Kekere-Ekun, 43, who was present at the laboratory during the raid. The NDLEA says the arrest marks a major breakthrough in its ongoing crackdown on synthetic drug production networks operating within Nigeria.