The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman while coordinating illicit drug shipments, including a 1.2kg consignment of cocaine destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the arrest followed an intelligence-led operation after the cocaine shipment was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31, 2026.
Babafemi identified the suspect as 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, who was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday, September 4.
He said the suspect was arrested while posing as a herbal tea businessman.
According to Babafemi, Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding some illicit drug shipments in the past and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted.
Further investigation, the NDLEA spokesperson said, revealed that the suspect had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011.
He was reportedly arrested after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.
He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison before later changing his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu.
Babafemi said the suspect subsequently returned to illicit drug trafficking.
A search of Ebubechukwu’s residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, also led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the intercepted cocaine.
The NDLEA said the internal components of the chargers had been removed to create spaces for hiding drugs.
Other seizures
The arrest was part of a wider NDLEA crackdown across nine states, during which operatives made several drug seizures.
At the Lagos airport, operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg, valued at more than ₦1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
They also seized 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, valued at more than ₦173 million in street value. The substance was reportedly concealed inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.
In Ondo State, operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker allegedly fitted with a concealed compartment containing 2,145kg of cannabis. The driver reportedly abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled.
At Tin Can Port, Lagos, the agency intercepted 598.08kg of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies concealed in a 40-foot container.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers recovered 864,000 opioid pills, particularly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect in Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area. Another suspect was arrested in Michika with 2kg of methamphetamine.
The agency also reported several other seizures and arrests involving cannabis, tramadol, cocaine, codeine syrup, rohypnol and other controlled substances across Lagos, Kogi, Taraba, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti and Enugu states.
Meanwhile, NDLEA commands across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation programmes in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain intelligence-led drug control efforts.
Marwa warned that traffickers who attempt to evade law enforcement by changing identities or operating behind legitimate businesses would continue to be tracked down.