The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced a major victory against organized crime, confirming it has successfully dismantled two significant drug cartels. These syndicates were responsible for six different cocaine consignments cleverly concealed within the walls of stainless cups, body cream, and hair gel containers—all destined for the United Kingdom.
This achievement, detailed in a statement by Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, is the result of a rigorous, intelligence-led operation that spanned over three weeks across Lagos. The painstaking operation led to the arrest of five suspects and, crucially, the apprehension of the alleged mastermind of the primary syndicate: Hammed Ode, who operates publicly as a businessman and real estate developer.
The agency’s success began to unfold on September 16th. NDLEA operatives stationed at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted 174 parcels of cocaine. The drugs, which weighed a total of 13.40 kilograms, were ingeniously hidden in the hollow walls of cocoa butter body cream containers.
A cargo agent was promptly arrested at the airport, but further investigation quickly pointed to Hammed Ode as the central figure behind the massive shipment. After weeks of careful intelligence gathering, investigators confirmed that the suspected drug baron had recently reported a civil dispute at the Zone 2 police headquarters in Lagos. The NDLEA sought the cooperation of the police, which successfully resulted in taking the key suspect into custody.
During his preliminary interrogation, Alhaji Hammed Ode admitted ownership of the consignment, claiming he had purchased the cocaine for over N150 million. He presented himself as a businessman and property developer who had recently returned from the United Kingdom in 2024. Before his return, he claimed to have lived for over 27 years across various European countries, including Austria, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, before finally settling in the UK.
Simultaneously, the agency frustrated five other determined attempts by a separate criminal syndicate to ship cocaine consignments to the UK. The unravelling of this second gang began on September 26th after operatives from the MMIA Strategic Command seized 2.10 kilograms of cocaine concealed within the walls of hair cream containers at the airport’s export shed.
The swift apprehension of a cargo agent in that case led the NDLEA to the consignor, Smith Korede, a furniture maker. Korede was arrested on Tuesday, September 30th, at his base on 3 Arowojobe St., Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos. At his location, another consignment—weighing 1.40 kilograms and also meant for export to the UK—was recovered from him. On that same day, a third consignment, weighing 1.00 kilogram and with an identical method of concealment, was also intercepted at the airport’s export shed, underscoring the relentless nature of these cartels.
