The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly returned to the illicit drug trade under a new identity and disguised himself as a herbal tea merchant.
The arrest formed part of a coordinated nationwide crackdown that also led to the interception of a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment for cannabis, as well as the seizure of more than two million pills of opioids and large consignments of cannabis, methamphetamine and other psychotropic substances across nine states.
The NDLEA, in a statement by its director, media and advocacy, Femi Babafemi said the 34-year-old suspect, Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday.
Ebubechukwu was allegedly linked to a 1.2kg cocaine shipment concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The consignment was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.
According to the agency, intelligence-led investigations by operatives of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) eventually led to the suspect.
Babafemi said during interrogation, the suspect allegedly admitted masterminding previous drug shipments and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest cocaine consignment had been intercepted.
The NDLEA said the suspect had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011 after allegedly ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.
He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment. The agency said he subsequently changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to the illicit drug business.
A search of his residence at Ejigbo, Lagos, on Friday also led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the cocaine shipment, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at over N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton shipment from Pakistan.
The agency also recovered 57.8kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, estimated at over N173 million in street value. The drug was hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore that had remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies.
In Ondo State, NDLEA officers intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC after the driver allegedly refused to stop along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway.
The driver later abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, alongside the legitimate fuel cargo reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, the agency also intercepted 598.08kg, contained in 890 packets, of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container.
The latest seizure followed the arrest of three suspects—Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji—over the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies at the same port about a month earlier. The new consignment was reportedly linked to the suspects already in custody.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, mainly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank. The suspect allegedly rammed his Honda Civic into an NDLEA patrol vehicle before escaping.
In another operation in Michika, a 35-year-old suspected major supplier of methamphetamine from Lagos to Mubi and Michika, Calistus Ebubechukwu, was arrested with 2kg of the illicit substance.
The agency also reported the interception of a consignment of tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus at Namtari checkpoint in Mubi.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji.
Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested at Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.
In Kogi State, three suspects—Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25—were arrested with 636kg of cannabis allegedly concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State.
In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road, Wukari, with more than 109kg of various controlled substances, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, Exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.
The drugs were allegedly being transported in his Toyota Corolla from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck loaded with bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway in Kaduna State 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 in neighbouring Gombe State.
In Ekiti State, NDLEA officers uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest, arresting two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35. They also recovered 117kg of already harvested cannabis.
In Enugu State, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested at Ugbema Junction with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
The agency said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign also continued nationwide, with sensitisation programmes held in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
Among the activities were an enlightenment lecture for nursing mothers and nurses at Ibereko Primary Health Centre, Abeokuta North, Ogun State; an engagement with youths of Umouji/Okwo community in Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State; and sensitisation for NLNG staff and concessionaires at the Saipem-Daewoo, NLNG terminal in Bonny, Rivers State.
Commending the officers and men involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach.
Marwa urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, stressing that traffickers attempting to evade detection by adopting new identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would continue to be tracked down.
