The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a convicted drug trafficker who disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman to smuggle cocaine to Saudi Arabia.
DailyVista247 gathered that the suspect was tracked and arrested after operatives intercepted a 1.2kg cocaine shipment destined for Riyadh at a courier company in Lagos.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the arrest in a statement issued on Sunday. He said the operation was intelligence-led and followed the interception of the drug consignment on July 31, 2026.
According to Babafemi, the suspect was identified as 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu. He was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Complex in Ojo area of Lagos on Friday, September 4, while posing as a herbal tea seller.
How NDLEA Tracked The Suspect
Babafemi explained that Ebubechukwu admitted to being the mastermind behind several illicit drug shipments in the past. He also confessed that he discarded his telephone SIM card after he learnt that his latest consignment had been intercepted by NDLEA officers.
Further investigation revealed that the suspect is not new to the Agency. He was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos after ingesting 900 grams of cocaine and 130 grams of heroin.
At that time, he attempted to fly to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch. He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment. After completing his jail term, he changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to drug trafficking.
A search conducted at his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos on Friday led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine. The chargers had their internal components removed to create space for drugs.
NDLEA Nationwide Crackdown In 9 States
The NDLEA said the arrest was part of a coordinated crackdown across nine states. During the operations, operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment for illicit drugs.
They also recovered large consignments of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine and other psychotropic substances in Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu States.
At the Lagos airport, operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg valued at over N1.1 billion. The drugs were concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
Operatives also recovered 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis valued at over N173 million. The substance was hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.
The consignment had remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination involving NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies on Thursday, September 3.
Fuel Tanker Used To Hide Cannabis In Ondo
In Ondo State, NDLEA officers pursued a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko Lokoja Expressway on Friday, September 4 after its driver refused to stop.
The driver later abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush. A search of the vehicle revealed a false compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg alongside its legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State.
At Tincan Port in Lagos, operatives intercepted 598.08kg comprising 890 packets of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container on Wednesday, September 2.
The seizure was linked to three suspects, Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji, who were arrested at the port about a month earlier over the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies.
Other Arrests Across The Country
In Adamawa State, operatives recovered 864,000 pills of opioids, particularly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank, in Damilu and Jambutu axis of Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area.
In Lagos, operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grams of cocaine, over 100kg of assorted tramadol grades, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of rohypnol at Gbaji area while two suspects were arrested with 720kg of cannabis at Agbara area.
In Kogi State, three suspects, Saidu Mustapha, 35, Zaharadeen Salisu, 29, and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25, were nabbed with 636kg of cannabis concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo to Jos.
In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam road, Wukari Local Government Area with over 109kg of tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine and other drugs being conveyed from Onitsha to Yola.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa, retd, commended officers and men of the Agency for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach.
Marwa urged them to sustain the balanced approach to drug control and warned that traffickers who believe they can reinvent themselves under new identities or legitimate business fronts will continue to be tracked down.
