The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker accused of masterminding drug shipments to Saudi Arabia after tracking him for more than a month.
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, on Friday.
The arrest followed the interception of 1.2kg of cocaine concealed inside phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos on July 31. The consignment was reportedly destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to the NDLEA, operatives of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) traced the alleged mastermind through intelligence-led investigations.
The agency said Ebubechukwu was posing as a herbal tea businessman when he was arrested.
In his statement, the suspect allegedly admitted masterminding previous drug shipments and disclosed that he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the cocaine consignment had been intercepted.
The NDLEA said further investigation showed that Ebubechukwu had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011.
At the time, he allegedly ingested 900g of cocaine and 130g of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.
He was subsequently prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
The agency said he later changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to drug trafficking.
A search of his residence at Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, also led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the cocaine shipment.
The NDLEA said the internal components of the chargers had been removed to create compartments for drugs.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended the officers involved in the operation and warned traffickers that changing identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would not prevent them from being tracked.
He urged NDLEA personnel across the country to maintain the intelligence-driven approach in the fight against illicit drugs.
