Drug Kingpin Apprehended En Route to Saudi Arabia

By Micheal Chukwuebuka

Yussuf Abayomi Azeez, a 40-year-old drug kingpin, was apprehended by operatives of a special operations unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

He was apprehended at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, a holy pilgrimage. The arrest followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on him and his criminal activities.

The drug lord had previously been arrested and charged for drug offences in the United Kingdom but jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria. Soon after settling in Lagos, he established a massive clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area for the production of Colorado, a deadly synthetic cannabis, and other illicit substances.

At approximately 6:30 am on Thursday, 6 November 2025, Yussuf walked into the waiting hands of NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport. He was swiftly driven to his clandestine laboratory at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under surveillance. At the time of his arrest, Yussuf was accompanied by another suspect, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun.

Inside the massive building, operatives from the Agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring dismantled all installed laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals, and produced illicit substances, including Colorado, with a total weight of 148.3 kilograms.