Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman after tracking him over a 1.2kg cocaine consignment concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In a statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director,……
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman after tracking him over a 1.2kg cocaine consignment concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In a statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, on Sunday, the agency said the suspect, 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday, September 4, 2026.
The NDLEA said the arrest followed painstaking intelligence-led operations by operatives of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), after the 1.2kg cocaine consignment was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.
“Following the interception of a 1.2kg cocaine consignment concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at a courier company in Lagos on 31st July 2026, operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) in NDLEA have successfully tracked the mastermind through painstaking intelligence-led operations,” the statement said.
The suspect, who was arrested while posing as a herbal tea businessman, allegedly admitted being the mastermind of some illicit drug shipments in the past.
“In his statement, he admitted being the mastermind of some illicit drug shipments in the past while stating that he discarded his telephone SIM card once he learnt his latest consignment had been intercepted by the NDLEA,” the agency said.
Further investigation revealed that Ebubechukwu had previously been arrested by the agency in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, after ingesting 900 grams of cocaine and 130 grams of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.
He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in jail under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.
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“He thereafter changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to the criminal trade,” the NDLEA said.
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 intercepted cocaine.
The agency said the internal components of the chargers had been removed to create space for the drugs.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg worth more than N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
The operatives also recovered 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis worth more than N173 million in street value, hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.
The shipment had remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies on Thursday, September 3.
In one of the major discoveries, NDLEA officers intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State on Friday.
The agency said the tanker, which was allegedly notorious for evading arrest, was chased after its driver refused to stop.
“The driver later abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko, and fled into the bush,” the statement said.
A search of the tanker revealed a false compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, alongside its legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State.
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives also intercepted 598.08kg, comprising 890 packets, of cannabis-laced 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 about a month earlier following the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered 864,000 pills of opioids, particularly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank, along the Damilu and Jambutu axis in Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area.
The agency said Frank’s Honda Civic car rammed into an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.
In another operation in Michika, 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, described as a major methamphetamine supplier from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis, was arrested with 2kg of methamphetamine.
Another suspect, Attahiru Hussaini, was intercepted at Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on Monday, August 31, with 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 grams of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted tramadol grades, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of rohypnol at Gbaji.
Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested with 720kg of cannabis at Agbara.
In Kogi State, 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.
In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road, Wukari Local Government Area, with more than 109kg of tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.
The drugs were allegedly being conveyed in his Toyota Corolla, marked KUJ-333BT, from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck loaded with bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.
In Bauchi State, 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru was arrested in a follow-up operation after the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town, Gombe State, on Tuesday, September 1.
In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest, arresting Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, and recovering 117kg of already-harvested skunk.
In Enugu State, 20-year-old Obinna David was arrested at Ugbema Junction on Saturday, September 5, with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
The agency said its Commands and formations across the country also continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
Commenting on the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers and men of the various commands involved in the operations.
“While commending the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, Ondo, Tincan, Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu Commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the various successful operations,” Marwa urged them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
He reiterated that traffickers attempting to evade detection by adopting new identities or operating under legitimate business fronts would continue to be tracked down.
