Friday, May 8, 2026 - Operatives of a Special Operations Unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in close coordination with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Lagos Country Office, and law enforcement partners from Switzerland, France, and Greece, have successfully dismantled a Transnational Criminal Organization allegedly involved in drug money laundering operations running into hundreds of billions of Naira across Europe and Nigeria.
The multi-country investigation into the drug money
laundering operations culminated in the well-coordinated simultaneous arrest of
an alleged billionaire drug baron, Amadi Simon in Switzerland and his
co-conspirators: 34-year-old Jecinta Amara Ikechi, in Anambra state, and
28-year-old Blessing Ngozi Amadi in Agbor, Delta state on Tuesday 28th April
2026.
This was disclosed Thursday, May 7, 2026, by Director, Media
and Advocacy of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi.
According to Babafemi, the arrests followed months of
intelligence and investigations across multiple jurisdictions linking Amadi to
the laundering of hundreds of billions of Naira in proceeds of drug and
financial crimes.
In addition to the arrest of the suspects, the NDLEA, in
collaboration with its international law enforcement partners, has also traced
multi-billion assets linked to Amadi’s transnational criminal network in
Nigeria and abroad.
His operations in Nigeria included a complex scheme of front
and shell companies; pass-throughs and delegates; and the use of numerous
traditional and cryptocurrency accounts to conceal and launder illicit
funds.
Properties already identified and linked to Amadi Simon as
proceeds of illicit drug funds include: Jovi Hotel at 1 Isiayei Street
GRA Phase1, Asaba, Delta State; Jovi Hotel and Suites at 4 Orikeze by
Deeper Life Road, Agbor, Delta State; as well as Jovi Apartment at Jamieson
Court Mabushi, Abuja; while several bank accounts and crypto currency addresses
used by the cartel to conceal hundreds of billions of illicit funds have also
been identified and blocked.
Speaking on the coordinated efforts of the NDLEA, the United
States DEA, and other international partners, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer
of the Agency, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) said the success of the
multi-country and multi-year operations has sent a clear message that the NDLEA
maintains “a zero-tolerance policy toward crimes that jeopardize the safety of
the Nigerian people, the integrity of our national reputation, and the
stability of our economy.”
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