Wanted female drug baron arrested in Lagos with 23.50kg of cocaine found in her children’s room
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,NDLEA has successfully arrested Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, a prominent member of a cocaine trafficking cartel, twenty months after the agency’s operatives smashed the syndicate led by Bolanle Lookman Dauda and Olayinka Toheebat Dauda in Lagos and Ogun state, seizing multi-billion-naira worth of cocaine.
The Drug Lord, Lookman and his wife, Toheebat were arrested on Saturday 25th May 2024 by operatives of a special operations unit of NDLEA at Ibiye, along Lagos-Badagry expressway while attempting to cross the land border to deliver the consignment in Ghana.
At the point of their arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms were found on them. A swift follow up operation in their residence at Plot 24/25 OPIC extension, Petedo road, Agbara, Ogun state, led to the recovery of additional eight blocks of the same drug weighing 10kg, bringing the total weight of the consignment seized from the couple to 57.5 kilograms.
In a bid to apprehend all members of the syndicate, the NDLEA operatives conducted thorough follow-up intelligence and surveillance on the trans-border drug trafficking organization. This effort culminated in the identification of Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, a 39-year-old female stash keeper and key member of the DTO. Subsequently, she was trailed to her 31 Onasanya street, Surulere, Lagos residence on Tuesday, 9th December 2025.
Following a thorough search of her residence, 23.50 kilograms of cocaine worth over N5 billion was discovered concealed in a black suitcase in her children’s room, which she claimed ownership of.
In his reaction to the arrest and seizures,Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged his operatives nationwide to exercise heightened vigilance during the festive season and uphold the highest standards of professionalism in all drug supply reduction and demand reduction initiatives throughout the period and beyond.
