The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly returned to the illicit drug trade after serving a five-year prison sentence, this time operating under a new identity and disguising himself as a herbal tea businessman.
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 State, on Friday, September 4, 2026.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the arrest followed intelligence-led investigations into illicit drug shipments, including a 1.2kg consignment of cocaine bound for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to Babafemi, the cocaine shipment was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.
He said Ebubechukwu admitted to masterminding some illicit drug shipments in the past and disclosed that he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
Babafemi said further investigation revealed that the suspect had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011.
He was reportedly caught after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes 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.
A search of his residence at Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, reportedly led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the intercepted cocaine.
The agency said the chargers had their internal components removed to create spaces for hiding drugs.
The arrest formed part of a wider NDLEA crackdown on illicit drug trafficking across several states.
In Ondo State, operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker allegedly modified with a concealed compartment for transporting drugs.
Babafemi said officers pursued the tanker, marked MKA 960 XC, along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway on Friday after its driver allegedly refused to stop.
The driver reportedly abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
A search of the tanker allegedly uncovered 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg in a false compartment, alongside the legitimate fuel cargo reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.
NDLEA seizes N1.1bn tramadol consignment
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives reportedly seized 966,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton shipment from Pakistan.
The agency also recovered 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis with an estimated street value of more than N173 million.
The substance was allegedly hidden 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 officers, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies on Thursday, September 3.
At Tincan Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, September 2, intercepted 598.08kg of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies, comprising 890 packets, in a 40-foot container.
The agency said the seizure was connected 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 opioid pills, particularly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank, in the Damilu and Jambutu areas of Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area.
Babafemi said Frank escaped after his Honda Civic car allegedly rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle.
In Michika, the agency arrested a 35-year-old suspected methamphetamine supplier, Calistus Ebubechukwu, with 2kg of methamphetamine.
Another suspect, Attahiru Hussaini, was intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on Monday, August 31, with tramadol and other opioids allegedly concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.
More rrests, seizures across states
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100kg of various grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup, and 4kg of Rohypnol in the Gbaji area.
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 inside 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 in Wukari Local Government Area with more than 109kg of assorted controlled substances, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, Exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam, and pregabalin.
The drugs were allegedly being transported in his Toyota Corolla, marked KUJ-333BT, from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.
In Kaduna, NDLEA officers intercepted a truck loaded with bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.
In Bauchi, 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 September 1.
Meanwhile, in Ekiti State, operatives uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest.
Two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested, while 117kg of already-harvested cannabis was recovered.
In Enugu State, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested at Ugbema Junction on Saturday, September 5, with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
Beyond the seizures and arrests, the NDLEA said its commands across the country continued with its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities.
The activities included drug-awareness lectures for nursing mothers and nurses in Ogun State, youths in Umuahia South, Abia State, and staff and concessionaires at the Saipem-Daewoo, NLNG terminal in Bonny, Rivers State.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations for what he described as professionalism and intelligence-driven work.
Marwa urged personnel to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
He warned that drug traffickers who believe they can evade law enforcement by changing their identities or operating under legitimate business fronts would continue to be tracked down.
