Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), working with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and security agencies from Switzerland, France and Greece, have dismantled a transnational drug money laundering network linked to billions of naira in illicit proceeds.

The coordinated operation led to the arrest of alleged billionaire drug baron Amadi Simon in Switzerland, alongside two female associates — Jecinta Amara Ikechi and Blessing Ngozi Amadi — in Anambra and Delta states.

According to the NDLEA, investigations uncovered a sophisticated laundering scheme involving shell companies, cryptocurrency wallets and multiple bank accounts used to conceal proceeds from drug trafficking and financial crimes across Europe and Nigeria.

Authorities also identified and blocked several accounts linked to the syndicate, while tracing multi-billion-naira assets including hotels and apartments in Delta State and Abuja allegedly connected to the network.

NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the operation sends a strong warning that Nigeria will not serve as a safe haven for drug traffickers or their illicit wealth, while reaffirming the agency’s commitment to international collaboration in combating narcotics trafficking and financial crimes.