The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) 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 bound 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 during 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 and allegedly admitted masterminding several illicit drug shipments in the past.
According to Babafemi, Ebubechukwu discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted.
The NDLEA spokesperson said further investigation revealed that the suspect had previously been arrested by the agency in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, after ingesting 900g of cocaine and 130g of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria.
“He was prosecuted for the crime, convicted and sentenced to five years in jail. He thereafter changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to the criminal trade,” Babafemi said.
He added that a search of the suspect’s 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.
According to him, the internal components of the chargers had been removed to create compartments for concealing drugs.
Babafemi said the arrest was part of a coordinated NDLEA crackdown across nine states, during which operatives also intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker allegedly fitted with a concealed compartment for transporting illicit drugs.
The operations also resulted in the recovery of large consignments of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine and other psychotropic substances.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg, with an estimated value of more than N1.1bn, 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 more than N173m in street value, concealed inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.
Babafemi said the consignment had remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination involving NDLEA officials, Customs officers and other security agencies on Thursday, September 3.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives reportedly pursued a 20,000-litre fuel tanker with registration number MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State on Friday, September 4, after the driver allegedly refused to stop.
According to Babafemi, the driver later abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
A search of the tanker allegedly uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg.
The cannabis was reportedly hidden alongside the tanker’s legitimate fuel cargo, which was being transported to Jos, Plateau State.
