By Odita Sunday
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman to continue his illicit drug trade.
The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos, after NDLEA operatives traced him to a 1.2kg cocaine shipment intercepted in Lagos on July 31, 2026.
The cocaine, concealed in phone chargers, was destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the suspect admitted during interrogation that he masterminded some illicit drug shipments in the past. He also disclosed that he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted by NDLEA operatives.
Babafemi said further investigation established that Ebubechukwu had previously been arrested by the agency in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after he ingested 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria.
He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment.
The NDLEA spokesman said the suspect later changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu before returning to the illicit drug trade.
A search of his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, on Friday led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the cocaine consignment, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs.
The agency also reported the seizure of huge consignments of illicit drugs in coordinated operations across nine states, including Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
Another 57.8kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis valued at more than N173 million, was recovered from cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.
The consignments had reportedly remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination involving the NDLEA, Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies on Thursday, September 3.
In Ondo State, operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker, marked MKA 960 XC, allegedly notorious for evading arrest.
The tanker was chased along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway on Friday after its driver reportedly refused to stop.
The driver later abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
A search of the tanker uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg. The illicit consignment was hidden alongside the legitimate fuel cargo reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted another 598.08kg, equivalent to 890 packets, of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies concealed in a 40-foot container on Wednesday, September 2.
The seizure came barely a month after three suspects — Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji — were arrested at the port over the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-infused cookies.
In Adamawa State, operatives recovered 864,000 pills of opioids, particularly Tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank.
Babafemi said Frank’s Honda Civic rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.
In Michika, the agency arrested 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, described as a major methamphetamine supplier operating between Lagos, Mubi and Michika, with 2kg of methamphetamine.
Another suspect, Attahiru Hussaini, was intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on August 31 with a large consignment of Tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted Tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji.
Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested at Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.
In Kogi State, three suspects — Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25 — were arrested with 636kg of cannabis concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State, along the Okene-Lokoja highway.
Taraba State also recorded a major interception, with 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu arrested along the Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari Local Government Area.
He was allegedly conveying more than 109kg of assorted controlled substances, including Tramadol, Diazepam, Pentazocine, Phenobarbital, Exol-5, Nitrazepam, Bromazepam and Pregabalin, in a Toyota Corolla marked KUJ-333BT from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.
In Kaduna, operatives intercepted a truck loaded with bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk concealed in the vehicle.
In Bauchi, 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru was arrested in a follow-up operation after NDLEA operatives seized 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town in Gombe State on September 1.
In Ekiti State, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested after operatives discovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest.
The operation also led to the recovery of 117kg of already-harvested skunk.
In Enugu State, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested at Ugbema Junction on Saturday with 40,590 capsules of Tramadol.
The agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across the country, taking drug-abuse awareness programmes to schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and men of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, MMIA, Ondo, Tincan, Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu Commands for what he described as their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.
Marwa urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
He warned traffickers who believe they could evade justice by changing their identities or disguising themselves behind legitimate businesses that the NDLEA would continue to track them down.
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